Friends of David Dutch, Marine veteran injured at Trump rally, pray for his recovery

The mood inside the Lower Burrell American Legion post changed in a heartbeat Sunday morning.

That’s when word reached them that one of their own, Marine veteran David Dutch, 57, had been seriously injured at the Trump rally Saturday in Butler County, where the former president and Republican nominee survived an assassination attempt that left one spectator dead and two injured.

“It went from a happy place to a somber place,” Roger Milliron Jr. of Lower Burrell said Monday afternoon at the Post 868 bar. “Everybody stopped talking. It went quiet. Everybody started praying.”

Milliron, a member of the Sons of the American Legion, said he has known Dutch for 20 years since meeting him at the post. Milliron called him “framily” — so close that although Dutch isn’t family, he is more than a friend.

“I just hope he gets better,” Milliron said. “I want to see my friend. I want to see him back the way he was.”

Dutch and a second man, James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon, suffered gunshot wounds in the incident at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Corey Comperatore, 50, of Buffalo Township was killed.

Dutch serves as commandant of the Westmoreland Detachment 1416 of the Marine Corps League.

“Our immediate support continues for David and his family as he continues his recovery from this attack,” Warren Griffin, national commandant of the Marine Corps League, said in a statement Monday. “We offer solace for David and his family along with eternal thoughts and prayers for all the victims of this tragedy.”

Matt Popovich, a vice commandant for the league’s District 8, said Dutch had been shot in the liver and chest and had been put in a medically induced coma.

Milliron said he was told that Dutch was stable after undergoing a second surgery and had been taken out of the coma at Allegheny General Hospital.

State police had no update on his condition Monday.

Dutch and his wife, Sheree, live on the Plum side of Greensburg Road between Kinloch and Lincoln Beach. Most of his neighbors were not home Monday afternoon. A woman a few doors down called him a “great guy” and a “great neighbor,” but said that, as a rule, neighbors there don’t talk about each other.

Local and world news media, including The Times of London, were passing through on Monday looking to talk about Dutch.

Milliron said Dutch and his wife don’t have children, but they have dogs.

The house was not decorated with anything political; there were no signs or flags proclaiming support for Trump. There was just a faded U.S. flag by the door, a “welcome” stone and a small metal silhouette of a battlefield cross with a soldier kneeling next to it.

Milliron said he and Dutch shared beliefs, but they didn’t talk about them in keeping with an unwritten rule of the American Legion post — don’t talk about religion or politics.

“You just don’t bring up certain subjects,” he said.

Guns are one thing they bonded over. Milliron said they are both shooting enthusiasts.

“Marines are good shots,” he said. “I’m a civilian trained by everybody here.”

Dutch also didn’t talk about his military service, Milliron said. He didn’t think Dutch had ever been wounded in combat but wasn’t sure.

Dutch isn’t a stereotypical Marine, Milliron said. If not for his close haircut, he wouldn’t stand out as one.

“He’s very quiet,” Milliron said. “He’s very modest.”

Dutch works for Siemens Innomotics, previously Siemens motors and large drives, in Burrell Township.

“We are shocked and saddened by these tragic events,” a Siemens spokesperson said in a statement. “Our thoughts go out to David and his family as we wish him a full recovery. Our team will continue to work with his family to provide support during this incredibly difficult time.

“We echo the widespread call to reject violence in all forms,” the spokesperson said. “What we witnessed reaffirms our ongoing efforts to promote the highest levels of civility, kindness and respect for differences in our workplaces and in our communities.”

While Dutch’s Marine Corps League detachment meets at the Lower Burrell Legion post, Milliron said, Dutch was not at the post often and it had been a couple of months since he had seen him.

“Your friends are always in your heart wherever you are,” he said.

Milliron said he looks forward to shaking his friend’s hand again.

“I just hope he gets better,” he said. “It’s a sad situation.”