James D. Dever

James D. Dever was born in 1955 and grew up in East Meadow, New York, where he chopped bicycles and worked at his uncle's pool installation business to help his single mother make ends meet. After seeing The Sands of Iwo Jima on Channel 9's "Million Dollar Movie" at age 10, he decided to join the Marine Corps-- enlisting at Levittown, Long Island in 1973. His 25-year career in the Corps took him from the South China Sea-- where he participated in the evacuation of Saigon/Phnom Penh-- to the deserts of Kuwait as a senior staff non-commissioned officer with the 1st Marine Division during Operation Desert Storm. The majority of Sergeant Major Dever's career, however, was spent in the Marine Corps reconnaissance community. During this time he had the opportunity to graduate USMC Amphibious Reconnaissance School; U.S. Navy Field Medical School; U.S. Army Ranger School; U.S. Navy SCUBA School; USMC Combatant Diver (Drager LAR-V re-breather); U.S. Army Airborne School; USMC Scout Sniper Scho