Crews Remembered as Friendly Patriot

VILLAS – Cape May County Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor and Lower Township Police Chief Edward Donohue announced that on Sept. 11, the County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Scene Unit and the Lower Township Police Patrol and Detective Bureaus investigated the circumstances surrounding the death of a man found in a vehicle in the parking lot of the Lower Township Municipal Building, 2600 Bayshore Road.
The deceased was identified as David Crews, 51, of the unit block of Heron Way in the North Cape May. Crews’ body was discovered in a Ford Econoline Van registered to him.
The subsequent investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office, the Lower Township Police Department and the Southern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the cause of death was a result of a single gunshot wound, and that the manner of death was suicide.
David Crews will be remembered as a patriot who stood at the intersection of Routes 9 and Route 47 holding signs supporting our troops, and as a friendly man who liked to spend time chatting at a local donut shop.
Crew was a self-employed painter, plasterer and paperhanger.
His brother, Wayne Crews, described David “as a happy person.” He said David was often with friends before work at a donut shop when he called him from Arizona.
“He loved everybody and everybody loved him,” said Wayne.
David did part-time janitorial work at the local military recruiting office for more than 10 years and coached youth hockey in Middle Township.
He was a divorced father of two, a boy and a girl.
Wayne described his brother as an activist who stood on the corner of Route 47 and Route 9 on July Fourth and Memorial Day honoring our military with signs such as “Honk for Our Troops,” and “Land of the Free Because of the Brave.”
“He was always out there with flags, banners and signs of support,” said Wayne. “He spoke about supporting the troops all the time.”
David was featured in a November 2008 story: “David Crews of Court House, never wore a uniform, never stood guard duty, never swept a minefield or steered a ship through mountainous waves to war. All he wanted to do was show appreciation to those who did those things.”
The story indicated David also stood at the intersection on a number of Friday afternoons.
“At first, he had a few signs and flags but that proliferation of patriotic colors blossomed. On Sunday, there were flags from all services as well as a super-size 6-by-10-foot American flag Crews bought at the recent Middle Township Harvest Festival.
“I couldn’t wait to put it up,” he said with a broad smile as wind unfurled the flag from a stake-secured ladder,” the story reported.
David locked horns with the Coalition for Peace and Justice which carried signs against the Iraq war on the opposite street corner at the intersection. He wrote a number of letters to the editor of the Herald critical of counter recruiting peace vigils held by the group.
In one of his letters, he said he stood on the corner in honor of his brother and others who served in Vietnam.
David was mentioned in a 2006 Herald story “On the corner of the intersection of Route 9 and Route 47 stood a group opposed to President Bush and the war in Iraq. Across the street, near Dunkin’ Donuts stood David Crews in opposition to the protesters. On Aug. 18, the debate over the war on terrorism was waged on the sidewalks of this community. Cars passed by honking, cheering, giving the thumbs up sign, and, in some cases, flashing dis-tasteful hand signs, while both sides tried to figure out which gestures were for them.”
The Herald story about Crews closed with: “I do it to support our troops and say ‘thank you’ and that we appreciate what they are doing, and to honor our military,” said Crews.
“I’m not a veteran, but I just feel patriotic,” said Crews as horns beeped and he returned waves from passing motorists.
David grew up in Glen Riddle, Pa. in Delaware County. He came to Cape May County in 1988, according to Wayne.