DAVID W. GORMAN
Executive Director, Washington Headquarters
Disabled American Veterans

David Gorman, a combat-disabled veteran of the Vietnam War, was appointed Executive Director of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) National Service and Legislative Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 1995. His responsibilities include oversight of the DAV National Service, Legislative, and Voluntary Service Programs. He is the organization's principal spokesperson before Congress, the White House and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Mr. Gorman enjoys a reputation as one of the nation's foremost experts regarding VA's complex array of services and programs designed to assist America's veterans and their families. Due to his comprehensive understanding of the VA's inner workings, he has been asked to sit on numerous VA and Congressionally chartered advisory committees, as well as many ad hoc groups, seeking ways to better serve America's veterans.

After attending Cape Cod Community College, Mr. Gorman entered the U.S. Army in 1969 and served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the famed "Sky Soldiers" of the Vietnam War. During a campaign to secure an area in Central Vietnam, where United States forces suffered extremely high casualties, Mr. Gorman was severely wounded. His wounds required amputation of both legs. Discharged from the Army in 1970, he immediately joined the DAV and is currently a life member of the DAV's National Amputation Chapter, and Chapter 4 in Wheaton, Md.

Mr. Gorman became a professional National Service Officer in the DAV's Boston office in 1971, rising to the post of supervisor of the organization's Providence Rhode Island office the following year. In 1975, he was assigned to the DAV National Appeals Staff, which represents veterans in claims before the VA Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) in Washington, D.C. He was later promoted to supervisor of the DAV National Appeals Staff.

In 1981, Mr. Gorman assumed management duties in the DAV's National Service Program at DAV National Service and Legislative Headquarters. He was promoted to Assistant National Legislative Director for Medical Affairs in 1983 and to Deputy National Legislative Director in 1994.