Page 78 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Summer 2022 - Online Magazine

LOCAL LEGENDS

One Bright had my way, I would have gone to

Light in the Viet Nam. Maybe God was looking
out for me. I didn’t have a death
wish; I had a service wish.”
Golden Age But it was in the back of a deuce
and a half, a mammoth cargo
truck, that Dave’s military career
took a sudden and unfortunate
of Media turn. The truck hit a bump; he was
tossed into the air and landed on
his back. He has lived with the
pain and disability ever since. So,
by Jeff Klotzman Dave pivoted from the infantry to
the Armed Forces Network; after
all, he was a great writer and still
had that decent voice. At AFN,
n the summer he gained a wealth of knowledge
of ’72, Dave and experience in radio and the
IWalker had communications discipline.
a life-defining “Six months before I got out of the
decision to make. army, I was home on leave, and I
He had just met with Lew Dee and Paul Beane
graduated from who had created ‘The Living End’
high school and at KEND radio. I went in there
was staring down with my tape from AFN and told
two divergent them I would be out by July and
career paths. needed a job. Lew said, ‘This kid
His passion has a pretty good voice.’ Paul said,
was broadcast Noon News (c. 1980) ‘Shut up; he’ll want money.’”
journalism,
steeped by years The military, on the other hand, Dave got the job and a slew of
of watching Walter Cronkite was a family tradition shared by others in Lubbock radio. He
with his father. But there was an his father and two older brothers. also worked at KSEL, KLLL,
even stronger call to duty that he In this case tradition trumped and KKAM, before making the
couldn’t ignore—the military. passion. So, without telling anyone leap to television news at KCBD,
“My dad felt like news was until the day before he shipped out Newschannel 11. He joined Abner
Euresti on the reporting staff. He
important, so I felt like it was for basic training, journalism was was reporting and anchoring while
important. I had a little bit of talent put on hold, and Dave enlisted in
and a decent voice, so I wanted the army. Little did
to be on television news,” he he know that choosing KKAM 1340 Radio News Director
explained during our interview to be a soldier would
session, which was more like actually hasten his
a story swap fest for two old entry into what
newsies. I have known Dave became a remarkable
since our high school days. He broadcasting career.
was editor of the Lubbock High Dave thrived in the
newspaper, Westerner World. I military. He became
was sports editor for the Monterey an officer and most
Mirror. We’ve been friends, likely would have
colleagues and competitors ever made it a career. “If I
since.

78 Lubbock Senior Link