He Gave His All
David with his mother Judi before receiving his Navy SEAL Trident.
Street Sign Will Honor the Memory of Navy SEAL David Tapper
David Tapper as a Navy SEAL
The Sea Isle home where David spent his summers, named JEFEL in honor of his great-grandparents’ children.
Memory lane has a new twist in Sea Isle City.
This one involves the long emotional tie between David Tapper’s family and their house at 89th Street and Pleasure Avenue in the Townsends Inlet section.
About 30 years ago, the home that had been in the family for roughly 60 years was sold. It had been the summer getaway for Tapper, an Atco resident who later joined the service and became a Navy SEAL.
Tapper tragically died serving his country in 2003. But on June 11, his memory comes home as Tapper will have the street where he played named in his honor.
A formal ceremony involving Mayor Leonard Desiderio and members of Tapper’s family will recognize one of Sea Isle City’s adopted sons.
The city will pay permanent tribute to many service distinctions.
That includes:
Bronze Star Combat “V” for Valor
Purple Heart
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Combat Action Ribbon
There have also been several national tributes, including the Pacific Tugboat Service in California naming the fastest crew boat in its fleet after Tapper.
Leading the Tapper family on dedication day will be his mother, Judi. She is a past president of New Jersey Gold Star Mothers, a support group for women who have lost children in the line of military duty. They also help veterans and are involved with veterans’ hospitals.
She will be joined by members of her family. Some of Tapper’s four surviving children are expected to be on hand.
“It is so special when people have such nice tributes to him,” says Judi, who still resides in Atco. “We are really thrilled. To our family, this means so much. This is where he spent all of his summers. David would be 51 this year [Aug. 16]. He’s my baby [the youngest of six children].
“He was such a water rat. He often said, ‘Mom, I have saltwater and sand in my veins.’ He knew he was going to be Navy SEAL when he was 12 years old.”
Tapper made good on that promise years later and Judi was with him in Coronado, Calif., when he received his Trident, formally making him a Navy SEAL after months of grueling training. Few potential Navy SEALs make the cut.
THE SEA ISLE CONNECTION
Tapper’s summer-youth experience unfolded in an area Judith termed “paradise.” It was near the beach in Townsends Inlet, now considered a southern section of Sea Isle City.
“We were only the second house in from Pleasure Avenue,” she recalls. “You could walk to the beach, you could spread out. You didn’t have somebody close to you. There were no parking problems, we could play horseshoes every day.
“Everybody named their houses back then,” she says with a laugh. “Ours was JEFEL, meaning the initials of my grandparents’ five children – Joseph, Edward, Frank, Edith [Judi’s mother], and Lillian.”
Tapper’s photo on display at the Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va.
The house had been a family jewel, she says, built in the 1930s by Judi’s grandparents. It stayed in the family into the 1990s when Judi’s mother sold it upon retiring to Florida.
That would normally have severed the family’s connection to this area. But a yearly event involving her son brings Judi back every September.
It’s the Run for the Fallen, a poignant tribute to soldiers who died in the service of their country. The event usually spans four days (it will be Sept. 22-25 this year) and stretches from Cape May to Holmdel.
Soldiers run one mile for every individual being honored.
One day before the event, a mile marker and Tapper’s photo will be placed at the corner of 89th and Landis.
The following day, a group of perhaps 10 soldiers will run Tapper’s mile, which leads up to his designated spot. Judi’s grandson Scott Baines, who now is in the Army, occasionally runs in Tapper’s mile, she says.
The group stops at the mile marker, says a few words about Tapper, and leaves to run a mile for the next solider. It’s a major event for families. Judi comes down a couple of days early to attend tributes for other soldiers and to witness her son’s.
“Neighbors come out, other Gold Star mothers come out, it really is an emotional experience,” Judi says.
It was at the 2021 ceremony that the street-commemoration idea occurred to Joe Griffies, a staunch advocate for veterans who is wired into the community. Griffies, who served in Vietnam, also has the ear of the Sea Isle mayor, and he set in motion the discussions leading to this tribute.
“Joe brought the idea to the city, and followed through from beginning to end; he has always been a tireless fighter for all veterans,” Desiderio says. “We’ve often said that we owe so much to our veterans and I hope that we show that we mean it by our actions here in Sea Isle City.
“The fact is that none of us can ever repay the debt owed to servicemen and women like David Tapper … but we can remember and honor them and try to conduct ourselves in ways that show that we value and cherish the freedom that all of our veterans have fought to provide us with.”
Adds Griffies: “Naming 89th Street for David M. Tapper will be an all-time remembrance of a sacrifice David made in bringing freedom to our country. All people gathered here will be on account of the freedom that David Tapper provided for them. Naming this street for David will be a remembrance to the sacrifices made by the men and women of our military.”
Tapper was an excellent example of that philosophy. Only months before being killed, he was part of the Navy SEALs team that rescued wounded American POW Jessica Lynch in Iraq in April 2003. He also helped to recover the bodies of nine U.S. soldiers buried near the Iraqi hospital where Lynch, an Army private, was held.
The rescue made national news.
His death embodied the same type of heroism, according to his squadron officer Ken Niederberger. It was Niederberger who had the sad duty of notifying Tapper’s wife, Tracy, that her husband had died.
Along with conveying the details – that amid an ambush, Tapper laid down a base of fire for his trapped teammates and continued engaging the enemy after suffering injuries that would prove to be fatal – Niederberger added heartfelt personal condolences about Tapper’s role in lifting the spirits of his entire unit.
Over the years, the Tapper family has gotten used to tributes in varied forms.
One came via the radio last year and really hit home.
THE LYNCH-TAPPER FAMILY REUNION
David Tapper obviously enjoyed skydiving.
It’s been nearly two decades since Lynch – who suffered a broken back, crushed legs and feet among other injuries – was rescued. Her subsequent journey – more than 20 operations, constant physical therapy, raising a young family and public speaking engagements – ties back to Tapper’s group.
Griffies introduced Judi and Jessica in surprise fashion over the phone last December. He has a popular radio show, “Welcome Home,” airing Saturdays from 2-4pm on WIBG in Ocean City.
“I had called in to his show as a guest and then he told me to hang on after the break,” Judi recalls. “When we came back, he said, ‘I have somebody here who wants to talk to you.’ And it was Jessica Lynch.
“Chills just ran up and down my arms. We started talking and she told me how it was when she was in and out of it [consciousness] and finally hearing the voices of Americans saying they were here to take her home.
“She was so appreciative. She thanked us over and over again. She asked what was going on in the life of David’s family. We talked for about 15 minutes. It was uplifting and emotional for both of us.”
Tributes usually are.
Judi Tapper has gotten used to them.
Now she will experience one more. This will be one she sees every time she drives near the site of countless family memories.
