Obituary: David Lawrence Bongard, 51

David Lawrence Bongard died in his sleep on March 31. He was 51 and had lived in Alexandria, Va.

Bongard was a historian, editor, author and teacher born June 19, 1959. He was gay and, according to his partner, Christopher Cox, he died of congestive heart failure. He was a native of a small town in New Jersey but his family moved when he was a child. He spent most of his adult life in the D.C. area.

In 1980 he graduated college, completing his four-year degree in three years through the Honours Tutorial College at Ohio University; he then moved on to earn his master’s at the University of Maryland.

Among his many contributions, Bongard is credited in seven books that he helped create: “How to Defeat Saddam Hussein,” “If War Comes How to Defeat Saddam Hussein,” “Future Wars, Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography,” “Hitler’s Last Gamble,” “Nontraditional War and Peace” and the “International Military and Defense Encyclopedia Volume I (of 6).”

He worked for a time at the National Archives and most recently was teaching classes at Potomac College.

Dave was an avid reader, when he wasn’t writing or teaching. A whiz at “Jeopardy!”, and a master of innumerable facts and trivia.

“He will be dearly missed by friends, family and coworkers alike,” Cox said.