From the Ford Line to the Front Line, an Assembler Is Killed Serving his Country

Some people think life on the assembly line is tough. In fact, it’s Easy Street compared with life on the front line in our nation’s war against terror.

Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, a former assembler at the Ford plant in Avon, OH, died Sept. 1 while serving as a Marine in Afghanistan.Hall, 31, died of injuries sustained during a blast from an improvised explosive device while in Helmand province, in the southern part of the country.

He joined the Marines in 2006 after spending the previous six years at the Ford plant. He spent about seven months training military police officers in Iraq before being deployed again to Afghanistan in June. He was due back home Dec. 17.

Hall left a good-paying assembly job to join the Marines because he felt it would give him purpose. It was a decision he never regretted.

Our hearts go out to Hall’s family and friends. Money is tight for everyone these days, but perhaps we can all spare a few dollars to help our wounded servicemen and women and the families of those who’ve fallen in service to their country. There are many worthy institutions. Here are two:www.freedomisnotfree.comandwww.uso.org.

John has been with ASSEMBLY magazine since February 1997. John was formerly with a national medical news magazine, and has written for Pathology Today and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. John holds a B.A. in journalism from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

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