Today’s guest is Dr David Meltzer

David Meltzer, OD is a US Army veteran of the Iraq War and an optometrist at Salus University in Philadelphia. David Melter has literally looked into the eyes of killers and lived to tell the story. 

David is a native of Rockville, Maryland. After spending the better part of his high school days skipping school and getting bad grades, he was rejected form the University of Maryland.

So, at 17 years old, on a whim, David decided to join the Army, where he was assigned to a healthcare unit.

After his army training, attending optometry school and Hahnemann University, David found himself being shipped off to Iraq as part of a surgical team attached to the US Army’s 1st Armored Division. 

Being one of only a few eye doctors early in the Iraq war, David frequently got calls to treat not only injured members of the US military, but high value prisoners after they were captured and needed medical care.

David treated multiple members of the infamous Iraqi “deck of cards”, including none other than the Ace of Spades himself - Saddam Hussain. David also treated Saddam’s top general “Chemical” Ali and the Iraq’s Foreign Minister and chief propagandist Tariq Aziz.

David shares some fascinating stories of what it was like to literally look into the eyes of killers.

David describes what happened when “Chemical” Ali, known for using chemical weapons against the Kurdish people, came face to face in a hallway with a Kurdish translator, who was working with the American forces, whose entire family was killed in those attack

David also tells us about the time he was called to a prison to treat Saddam Hussain only a few days after he was captured.

After the war, David tells stories of the multiple leaders at he was called to treat during his time at Walter Reid Hospital, including the then Vice President Joe Biden. 

David and I also discuss his time treating at the US Military Academy at West Point how he started the sports vision program there for the cadets

David and I also discuss how he got connected to Dr Dan Laby - a thought leader in the field of vision - and how that collaboration has led to David becoming the Spring Training eye doctor to multiple major league sports teams like the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs.

We end our chat with how David got involved with the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and how he plays ice hockey on an injured warriors hockey team that takes the ice vs. NHL legends like John LeClair, Mark Howe, Danny Brier and Kjell Sameulson. 

We wrap things with David’s thoughts on why today’s high school students could benefits from that military services can provide today’s college age students.

So …

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We have a bunch of cool interviews, like this one, to come.

Enjoy my conversation with Dr David Melter – Iraqi war veteran, hockey player, and eye doctor to the famous and infamous

And remember… “Life is built, not born…”

Mentioned In This Episode:

LinkedIn: David Meltzer, OD

Book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Eye Clinic: Salus University (Philadelphia, PA)

Iraqi Deck of Cards

Eye Clinic: Sports Vision NYC - Dr Dan Laby