David Edward Moley

July 14, 1941 - June 17, 2021
David Edward Moley

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David Edward Moley Sr., 79, of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina passed away on Thursday June 17, at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC.

He was born on July 14, 1941, in the Borough of the Bronx, New York to Harold and Marie O’Connell Moley.

David graduated from St. Sebastian School in Newton, Massachusetts in 1959, and spent one year as a novice monk at the Trappist monastery, St. Joseph’s Abbey, in Spencer, Massachusetts. He graduated from Fairfield University in Connecticut in 1965 and enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after. David was deployed to Vietnam where he served eighteen months with the 5th Special Forces Group as Team Captain with the II Corps Mobile Strike Force in Pleiku from 1968 to 1969. David was awarded a Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Jump Wings, and three Overseas Bars (Vietnam). After receiving an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army in 1971, David was a co-founder of a recruitment firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Later, he started his own firm, Moley and Associates, as a recruiter for the food service industry. He retired from his company in 2015.

David is survived by his wife of forty-nine years, Gloria Jackson Moley; son, David (Kerry) of Wilmington and daughter, Lindsey Carter (Wes) of Charleston, South Carolina. David is also survived by his brother Kevin (Dorothy) of Williamsburg, Virginia, and nephew Damon Moley of the Netherlands; and grandchildren Neave Moley, Miller Carter and Violet Carter.

A private service is planned at a later date.

The family requests for those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to helping the indigenous Montagnard people at https://www.vietnamemifund.org/donate or the UNC Chapel-Hill Division of Vascular Surgery at Meadowmont.

Please share memories and condolences with the family by clicking on the “Post a Condolence” tab below.

Wilmington Funeral & Cremation, 1535 S.41st Street Wilmington, NC 28403. 910.791.9099.


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  • October 29, 2021
    Frank Vasko says:
    I was saddened to hear of Dave's passing. I served with him in Vietnam / Det B-20, Pleiku Mike Force. He was a good soldier and a good friend. I will miss talking to him. My thoughts and prayers are with Dave's family.

  • November 13, 2021
    James P Lattimore says:
    Dave was one of the finest men that I ever had the pleasure to serve with, but more than that he was a true friend. We communicated once or twice a year and Veteran's Day was one of those times, so I was deeply saddened to discover his passing. He will be greatly missed by all of us that knew him.