David Gurfein

David Gurfein is an American military veteran. He retired as a U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. Gurfein is currently the CEO of the American nonprofit organization United American Patriots.

Early life
Gurfein attended Great Neck South High School. He was the school's quarterback from 1980–1982. He proposed and led a successful campaign to change the school's mascot from a Confederate rebel to an American Revolutionary War rebel during the 1981–82 school year.

Military career
Gurfein joined the U.S. Marines at the age of 17. After fighting in the Gulf War, he left active-duty in the military to get an MBA from Harvard University but he remained in the reserves. After the September 11 attacks, Gurfein was sent to Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. At the end of that tour of duty, he re-enlisted and was deployed to Kuwait. He was part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, which led the assault into southern Iraq at the start of the Iraq War. On March 21, 2003, Major Gurfein was photographed pulling down a poster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Safwan, Iraq. The photo, which was taken by American war photographer Chris Hondros, is considered one of the iconic images of the war. Gurfein said the marines removed portraits of Saddam in Safwan because, "We wanted to send a message that Saddam is done... People are scared to show a lot of emotion. That's why we wanted to show them this time we're here, and Saddam is done."