Cmdr. David Moore, USN 1921 ~ 2012David Moore, a Salt Lake City professional engineer, veteran, and amateur historian who helped to uncover lost Roman construction methods, died June 10 of prostate cancer. He was 91. A chance retirement trip to the Pantheon in Rome sparked his interest in Roman construction that used an early form of concrete to build aqueducts, roads and temples on a scale previously impossible. His 20 year search for the secret recipe that helped build Roman civilization resulted in the aptly-named book The Roman Pantheon: The Triumph of Concrete and he was featured on the History Channel. His inquisitive mind led him to visit other historical subjects such as the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Saipan for which he had first-hand knowledge during military service in World War II and described on his website www.romanconcrete.com. Mr. Moore was born May 16, 1921 in Evanston, Wyo to John and Jennie (Izatt) Moore. After graduating from Evanston High School and Utah State University (civil engineering), he tried to enlist in the U.S. Navy but was disqualified due to poor eyesight. Pleading fatigue from the long trip to Cheyenne, he asked to be retested the next day. He passed by sneeking into the office and memorizing the eye chart, and was mustered into the Seabees where he served in the 1944 invasion of Saipan and Tinian. After the war, he obtained a master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Utah and married Frances O'Brien who he met while working for the US Bureau of Reclamation on the Fontenelle Dam near LaBarge, Wyo in 1950. They had two sons, John and Patrick. He attended Stanford University on the GI bill, achieving the degree of Professional Engineer and then returned to Salt Lake City to work for Hercules Powder Company in 1960. Later in life, a job building U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Guam and Saudi Arabia, allowed Frances and him to become frugal world-travelers. He joined the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant, rising to commanding officer of the Naval Reserve Construction Battalion at Fort Douglas, and was instrumental in building a memorial to sailors lost on the USS Utah, sunk at Pearl Harbor. In 1967, he volunteered again for active duty in Vietnam, serving in a combat support role in the Philippines, though he later regretted American involvement in this war. He deeply respected the lives of others, regardless of nationality or social status, and worked to return family photos from a fallen Japanese soldier found on the Saipan battlefield. Although an engineer's engineer, he was always more curious about people than the physical structures they lived in. He frequently struck up conversations with strangers, who may have been initially unnerved, but later became life-long friends. In retirement, he taught mathematics to disenfranchised students at the University of Guam, fusing his interest in helping others with his love for engineering. For everyone, he had a sincere respect based on character rather than social status. He was above all devoted to Frances, who enthusiastically and with loving good-humor encouraged his vagabond ways but did not hesitate to let him know whenever he was too full of himself. After 50 years of marriage, he spent the last five years of her life caring for her until her death in 2007. In addition to his two sons, Mr. Moore is survived by his daughters-in-law, Karen Moore and Yuan Chang, and his three grandsons, Christopher, Justin and Jackson. He was grateful to Ms. Erica Forsman and Ms. Tamara Earl, who helped care for him and Frances and who assisted in his concrete experiments. He retained his curiosity until the end. Whenever he came across some impressive piece of architecture or engineering, he would exclaim, "Holy-moly! How in the world did they do that?" As often as not, he would then investigate to find out. Memorial services will be held in Salt Lake City, June 23, and he will be interred together with Frances in the Coalville, Utah cemetery.
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