David Waters speaking at a NWTRCC conference.
David Waters was born in Alabama in 1946. He grew up in six deep south states, landing in Conroe, Texas, as he began high school.
He spent three years (1966–1969) in the Army Special Forces. His tour in Vietnam was interrupted by wounds. He was not active against the war. However, he would have taken his two brothers to Canada if either had been drafted.
He attended college on the GI bill. Afterwards, he worked for the State of Texas out of the City of Houston Health Department for several years. In 1980, he moved to his family’s farm, which had been left to his father by his grandfather.
As farming became more difficult, he took a job with the State of Alabama as a prison guard. Then he moved into policing with the City of Anniston Police Department. From 1986 to 2001, he was an enforcement agent at the Alabama State Alcoholic Beverage (ABC) Central Board in Birmingham. In 1987 following his divorce, he became a single parent raising his three-year-old son.
He became politically activated and radicalized by the Iran-Contra disclosures. By the time of the first Gulf War, he was on his way to being done with the state (big or small “S”). He quit cold with the end of Operation Desert Storm.
Though not religious (a non-believer), he became active with Pastors for Peace because they were involved with areas of interest to him: Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Cuba. He has traveled to these countries including six trips to Cuba in violation of the U.S. Embargo.
After leaving the ABC Board, he began working as a carpenter. He has been self employed as a carpenter since. He works together with his son, who is 24 now.
He became a war tax resister non-filer a year after leaving state employment. His involvement with the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee has been a real help and a source of a good number of friendly faces. For him, war tax resistance makes perfect sense for anyone who is simply unable to continue to support the madness.
Contact info for David:
nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org
(205) 591-0835
