David Vessey
David Vessey
David Vessey is a philosopher who specializes in phenomenological approaches to the humanities. He currently teaches at the University of Chicago.
Vessey was previously a high school science teacher. During his tenure there, Vesey performed demonstrations that involved blowing up various items in the classroom.
Early Life and Education
Vessey was born at Damascus, Wayne county, Pennsylvania on November 2, 1859 and comes from an illustrious English lineage and one of America’s oldest families.
He joined the Minnesota National Guard in 1939 and served as a field artillery forward observer during World War II. His experiences in North Africa and Italy inspired him to advocate for realistic combat training, modern equipment, and air-ground cooperation throughout his lifetime.
Vessey served in Germany and Vietnam before heading the US Army Support Command in Thailand in December 1970 and the Laotian operations branch of Joint Task Force-Laos the following January 1972. He is widely credited with bringing the Royal Lao government to negotiation tables and ending their brutal civil war. Upon returning home, Vessey became Army’s deputy chief of staff for operations and plans.
Professional Career
David Vessey was a four-star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan, leading an unprecedented rise in peacetime defense spending and an expanded US military presence abroad to counter Soviet military power.
He was a true soldier of the Army, having deceitfully falsed his age to join the service and earned himself the rank of first sergeant in the 59th Field Artillery Brigade, 34th Infantry Division during World War II. Throughout North Africa and Italy, his service earned him a battlefield commission as an observer during the Battle of Anzio.
In 1967, Vessey led a 300-man artillery battalion during an intense six-hour assault by enemy troops at Suoi Tre. His men lowered their howitzer barrels to fire point blank into the onrushing attackers, ultimately killing four hundred of them.
Achievement and Honors
Vessey joined the Minnesota National Guard in May 1939 and later served in Italy and North Africa with the 59th Field Artillery Brigade of 34th Infantry Division during World War II.
Vessey began his military career as a battery first sergeant and was soon given command of an artillery battalion.
In 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Henning led his artillery battalion through a six-hour siege by 2,000 enemy troops despite wounds and the presence of a grenade in his hand.
Vessey served in the Army for 46 years, commanding an infantry division and field artillery brigade. He also deployed to Germany and Vietnam. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Vessey as his tenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Personal Life
David Vessey was a prominent American family, born in Damascus, Wayne County on November 2, 1859.
He obtained a solid common school education, supplemented by business courses at Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Ultimately he went on to become an acclaimed merchant with stores located in Tyler Hill, Pa. and Ottawa, Kan.
His career included service in Germany and Korea. Additionally, he led US Army support operations in Thailand and Laos.
Net Worth
David Vessey is an American pharmaceutical executive with a net worth of $34 million. He currently serves as President of Research and Early Development for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), having worked there for 13 years.
He leads the company’s research and early development team, overseeing the progress of promising programs, technologies and assets from discovery through proof-of-concept. Their pipeline includes mRNA-4157 which is in phase 2 testing as well as milvexian, a hepatitis C treatment being developed with Janssen that could become the first oral factor XIa inhibitor on the market.
In 2020, he received a $2.8 million stock award and $1 million in options. Additionally, his salary, bonus and nonequity incentives were slightly higher than the prior year.