Dave Roever grew up in a loving family in South Texas. He never thought he would go to war. Then he received his draft notice at the height of the Vietnam War. He joined the Navy and became part of the Brown Water Black Beret, serving as a riverboat gunner in Vietnam.
After just eight months of duty Dave was badly burned, nearly beyond recognition. A phosphorous grenade he was about to throw exploded in his hand. He was hospitalized for fourteen months and had several major surgeries. The fact that he survived and is alive today is miraculous.
He was so disfigured that he wasn’t sure his wife would love him anymore; but, she stood by him. Dave is still severely disfigured. Yet, he has become an internationally known speaker and a gifted communicator with a humorous style. His worldwide travels take him to a variety of settings. He speaks at public schools, military installations, businessmen’s meetings and youth conventions, among others. Roever (pronounced Reever) has been a frequent guest on national television talk shows.
Everywhere Dave goes, he carries a message of hope. He shares how he experienced loneliness and talks about his disfigurement and pain. He is very qualified to speak to troops who have been injured in the military, because he was in war, too. Like many of them, he served, was injured and had to suffer much pain as he went through the recovery process. He offers messages with concrete solutions for life’s problems, and he also talks about triumphs that life gives. The foundation for Dave’s faith is hope, and he is sustained by the love and support of his family.
The Department of the Navy awarded Dave the Purple Heart, thirty-four years after his injury. Dave was also awarded an honorary doctor degree in May, 2005. It was given in recognition of his exceptional life and outstanding service.
In December, 2004, Dave secured property in the beautiful Wet Mountains facing the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Westcliffe, Colorado. He and his wife, Brenda, have built a training center they called Eagle’s Summit Ranch. This facility is for those who have been seriously wounded in the war on terror and are in need of emotional reconstruction.
The hope is to restore and encourage these badly injured military men and train them to know how to turn the tragic things that have happened to them into triumph. Dave wants to show a hurting world how Christ can make a difference in life. These wounded American warriors are equipped with the courage to go before an audience and share the story about their military experience and tell how they survived.
He explains, “Hundreds of our treasured defenders of freedom are left wounded and in despair. Medical intervention puts these wounded warriors back on their feet with artificial limbs, but it cannot place them back on their feet spiritually. At Eagle’s Summit Ranch the goal is to glue them back together emotionally and spiritually.”
Billy Graham has said, "Dave Roever has had a wonderful ministry with young people and military installations in conjunction with our crusades. God has obviously given him the gift of an evangelist, and I am grateful for his ministry of sharing the Gospel."
Roever is a true testimonial to the Bible verse: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
For further information, refer to: https://roeverfoundation.org