David Gurfein

Military career Gurfein joined the U.S. Marines at the age of 17. Through the Marines' Delayed Entry Program, he attended Syracuse University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science. 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.

After 25 years of service, Gurfein retired from the military in 2007.

Gurfein is currently the CEO of the American nonprofit organization United American Patriots (UAP).