After 30-year career in Navy, Hempfield native looks forward to next step

Retirement from a long military career will mean more time to help civilians for Hempfield native Dr. David Bitonti.

After 30 years in the Navy that included overseeing the $2.4 billion merger of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., Bitonti is waiting for his papers for service as a Red Cross volunteer.

It's a natural segue for the soft-spoken man whose work helping others included playing a major role in starting the service dog program at Walter Reed and working with wounded veterans at one of the nation's largest military medical facilities.

“It's a different experience helping those who wore the cloth of the nation,” said Bitonti, 56. “It's very profound. You get emotionally tied to folks.”

Bitonti said he cherished his time in the Navy and for now will focus on volunteer work before deciding what is next for him in life. He said he would like to find another career “that will allow me to feel I'm making a contribution” — as he did at Walter Reed.

Bitonti “ran point” for the dog therapy program that was established there in 2007. He said he saw the benefit service dogs offered wounded warriors and the staff at the hospital.

“We had no idea the impact this would have, (but found that dogs have) the ability that no human has to touch people,” he said.

A 1977 graduate of Hempfield Area High School, Bitonti earned a degree in chemistry from St. Vincent College in 1981. After getting a degree in dentistry from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Dental Medicine in 1985, he said he thought he'd give the Navy “three years and go from there.”

“Three years became five, seven became 11 ... and then, whatever. We were very fortunate,” said Bitonti, who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., with his wife, Lisa, and the couple's adopted therapy dog, Bobbie.

He served aboard the USS Enterprise and the USS Holland, and was the first dental officer trained to command ships. In 2013, he was named commander of Naval Support Activity Bethesda, responsible for operational support to Walter Reed, the Warrior Transition Brigade and nearly three dozen other agencies.

“I got paid to go to a place every day where I liked what I did,” he said about the installations in Bethesda, which have 13,000 active duty and civilian employees and receive 1.5 million visitors each year.

Bitonti was given the Legion of Merit — an award for outstanding service — for his leadership during Walter Reed's closing, and for establishing specialized treatment facilities at the merged medical facility for personnel exposed to the Ebola virus.

“He's a people person, takes pride in what he does,” said his mother, Viola, 83, of Greensburg. “He enjoys doing for other people.”

Bitonti grew up in Carbon, a mining village southwest of Greensburg, where some childhood friends said they expected the boy they called “Bit” would go far, but not necessarily on a military path.

“I was a little surprised that Dave was a career Navy guy,” said Mark Rosatti, 56, of Greensburg, a sales manager for a food distributor. “He was very intelligent. I expected him to be a doctor of some sort ... return to Greensburg and open a practice.”

Another childhood friend, Don Bucchi, wasn't so surprised that the son of a teacher and nurse ended up in a military career.

“He was always self-disciplined, driven,” said Bucchi, 56, who lives near Carbon. “He came from a real cohesive family.”

Despite his success, family members say Bitonti remains grounded.

“My brother is still that guy who loves Bruce Springsteen and the Steelers,” said his sister, Tressa, 50, of Greensburg.

Craig Smith is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5646 or csmith@tribweb.com.