JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Cheryl Ann David, center, and her son, Marino David Jr., greeted friends and colleagues yesterday during the memorial services in the Mauka Chapel of Mililani Memorial Park. Maj. Marino David died in Louisiana while preparing for deployment to Kuwait.

Heat studied
in Army death

A reservist who died during training
in Louisiana is buried at Schofield

Two military investigations into the Aug. 20 death of Hawaii Army Reserve Maj. Marino David at Fort Polk, La., have not been completed. However, his family says he might have succumbed to heat.

"What we're hearing is it might have been heatstroke," said Randy Macadangdang, David's brother-in-law.

David's body was found eight hours after he started one of a number of training exercises he was to undergo at Fort Polk to prepare for deployment to Kuwait. His fellow soldiers started the search after he failed to complete the course within the prescribed three hours.

"It was very, very hot," said Lt. Col. Matthew Histen, commander of a Baton Rouge-based unit to which David was assigned.

David, 49, was buried with full military honors at Schofield Barracks yesterday following a memorial service at Mililani Mortuary.

Macadangdang described David as a dedicated soldier, husband and father.

"Marino loved the military, he loved his family," he said.

David also loved his country, said Kimberly Macadangdang, his wife's sister-in-law.

"All he gave for our country, and he was so proud to be an American," she said.

David was born on Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, and moved to Hawaii in 1975, when he was 18.

He attended ROTC at the University of Hawaii and received his commission in December 1986. His Army Reserve job prior to going to Louisiana was as training liaison officer for 9th Regional Readiness Command, the Army Reserve command in the Pacific.

David always got his job done without any complaints, said Brig. Gen. John Ma, 9th Regional Readiness Command commander.

"He always had a smile on his face," Ma said.

He was ordered to active duty July 18 and arrived in Louisiana on Aug. 4 for readiness training. He had known the other 63 members of his unit barely two weeks but already had a big influence on his fellow soldiers, Histen said.

"We had chaplain support at our unit, and we needed it 'cause we had people devastated, absolutely devastated," he said.

Histen said David started his test about 10 a.m. He needed to find three out of four points in the test area using a map and compass to pass. Several people encountered David on the course and had gotten assistance from him, Histen said.

About 12:40 p.m. another member of the unit encountered David on the course and noticed the he had already found three of the four points, Histen said.

"So he could have gone back and gotten his go (passed the exercise), but he was a determined guy to find that fourth point," he said.

Histen said spotters located David's body by helicopter after a unsuccessful ground search. He said it was far away from where they were searching, outside the training area.

"They were putting up a new fence, and they had the posts up but not the chain link (fence). So you could actually cross," Histen said.