David Ganz was born January 11, 1934 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He grew up in the Boston suburbs and attended University of Massachusetts, Amherst from 1951 to 1955. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration.
In 1952, David Ganz volunteered for the Marine Corps Officers Training Program – “The Platoon Leaders Course.” Upon graduation in 1955, Mr. Ganz became a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. His obligation was for two years, but he volunteered for pilot training with an extension of 3 years.
On November 27, 1956, during helicopter flight training, Second Lieutenant Ganz's instructor tried an unusual maneuver (coming in for a landing, downwind at relatively high speed). The idea was to demonstrate what not to do but the maneuver resulted in the helicopter blades striking the ground and the helicopter tumbling over and over. When it finally came to a stop, the instructor was pinned under part of the helicopter. Ganz got out a second before it exploded. Unfortunately, the instructor, soaked with fuel and burning badly, was pinned under the helicopter. At great risk to his own life, Second Lieutenant Ganz immediately returned to the flaming aircraft and was able to extricate his instructor and move him away from the flaming wreckage even though the instructor was still on fire. Unfortunately, the instructor was so severely burned that he was retired from the Navy for medical reasons. For his actions, Ganz was presented with The Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the Marine Corps' highest award for heroism in a non-combat action. Of the thirteen Navy & Marine Corps medals awarded in 1956, twelve of them were presented posthumously.
After the Marine Corps, Mr. Ganz entered the tire business with his father and was able to build it from a small used tire and government surplus tire business to a world leader in construction and agricultural tires selling to such leading companies as Caterpillar and John Deere. In his business, he continued to fly his own airplane for a total of 54 years.
Mr. Ganz retired in 2005. He has since been focusing his energies on a range of charitable causes.
