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“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” – Winston S. Churchill
The world has lost a brilliant writer, a stalwart advocate and a steadfast seeker of truth.
David Kirby, who died April 16, embodied the spirit and drive of the ’70s journalist, with untainted dreams of changing the world: unbiased investigations, speaking truth to power, digging for answers, fighting against corruption and daring to go where others feared to tread.
In today’s world, a quick copy-and-paste of industry-backed articles and press releases passes for journalism. The extent to which reporters expose the facts is determined by the extent to which industry overlords bankroll the media outlets that employ them.
David always took the high road, the road less traveled — the righteous path with the rough terrain that leads to the truth. Copy-and-paste reporting ran counter to his character.
Commenting on the loss, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Children’s Health Defense (CHD) founder and chairman on leave, said:
“David was blessed with compassion, integrity, curiosity and a poetic knack for investigative journalism that allowed him to tell the story that started this movement.
“He combined his passion for truth with a gentleness of spirit that disarmed his critics and inspired love among his fan admirers.”
A New York Times bestselling author, David’s hard-hitting books earned him several awards for investigative journalism and attracted the interest of movie production companies — a 10-part network series on his “Death at Seaworld” book is currently in development.
David’s books include:
- “Evidence of Harm, Mercury in Vaccines, and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy”
- “Death at Seaworld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity”
- “Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment”
- “When They Come for You: How Police and Government Are Trampling Our Liberties – and How to Take Them Back.”
His writing style was multi-faceted. “Upper East Bride” revealed his softer fictional writing style, brimming with his unique humor and compassion for humanity.
David was intelligent and fiercely curious. He loved learning about new things and seemed to instinctively know just the right questions to ask of whomever he was interviewing.
He sometimes showed an intensely emotional side when deeply moved by people and circumstances, either with tears or raucous, infectious laughter.
David was a loyal friend. He drew a crowd. You couldn’t help but want to be around him. He was one of those rare people whose mere presence made others happy to be in the world.
He was sincerely touched by the stories of those he met along the way. It didn’t matter what the issue was, he found the importance in why people were speaking out and understood why their stories needed to be re-told to the masses.
“David had a profound and indelible impact on my life and upon my entire family,” said Rita Shreffler, former CHD director of communications.
“I loved him for the passion he had for his work, for his integrity, and most of all, for his huge heart. His friendship has been a blessing in my life. I will always remember David with admiration and affection,” Shreffler said.
David had a gift for weaving the most complicated stories into books that kept readers turning pages for hours on end, eagerly awaiting the next eureka moment he would inevitably provide.
Most people in the health freedom movement met David because of his powerful book, “Evidence of Harm.” Yet not many know the backstory.
David was what some of us might call a “political junkie.” He heard about the stir on Capitol Hill that happened when four sentences were mysteriously added to the Homeland Security Act — a massive piece of legislation that was hurriedly put together for the supposed purpose of protecting Americans from terror threats following 9/11.
Those four little sentences, presumably added to the big bill in the dead of night, would absolve vaccine makers and vaccine ingredient manufacturers of all liability for injuries to children caused by thimerosal, a vaccine ingredient that is 50% ethylmercury.
Thimerosal was a component of many children’s vaccines in the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s. Generally, the more vaccines a child received meant the more mercury they were injected with.
Susceptible children — four times more males than females — regressed in previously acquired skills and were eventually diagnosed with autism. David soon learned that many of the traits of autism are identical to those of mercury poisoning and wondered how liability protection for products routinely given to infants and children found its way into a congressional bill in the middle of the night.
His naturally curious mind pushed him to find out whether there was something more to the story. He became one of only a handful of journalists brave enough to take on what was and still is considered extremely controversial.
On his own dime, David hopped on a train from New York to Washington, D.C. to attend a rally on Capitol grounds in 2003. He went to meet the parents who were fighting against those four notorious sentences in the Homeland Security Enhancement Act that came to be known as the “Eli Lilly Rider” — because Eli Lilly was the pharmaceutical company that manufactured thimerosal.
That day at the Capitol marked the beginning of David’s journey down the rabbit hole. From there, he learned about the industry and government lies and the manipulated science that prevents families from receiving justice for the lives ruined whenever pharmaceutical profits trump the health of our nation’s children.
“I’m grateful that our paths crossed and that I had the opportunity to work with David in his journey to make this world a better place,” said Lyn Redwood, CHD president emerita.
“Although his life was cut tragically short, his contributions in exposing the injustice heaped upon my son and countless others will forever be a lasting debt of gratitude I can never repay,” Redwood added.
David’s “Evidence of Harm” book tour took him to all corners of the U.S. Mostly, he stayed with parents of vaccine-injured children, who eagerly opened their homes for his visit, grateful that he was shedding light on what powerful forces needed to be kept in the dark.
Because of this extraordinary journalist, parents were finally able to get their children’s truth out to the world. They will be forever grateful.
We would be living in a much different world today if more journalists and doctors did what David Kirby did. David listened intently and believed mothers’ accounts of their once healthy, normally developing children regressing after receiving shots.
Despite it being perilous and completely counterintuitive, mothers are rarely believed by the medical community or the media. But who knows children better than their mothers?
David knew the answer to that question and acted on it bravely and beautifully.
“I am heartbroken for the world’s loss of a true warrior and avid activist in search of truth, said Laura Bono, CHD acting president. “Selfishly, I miss my friend. David’s impact on me, my son, my family and our movement has been limitless.”
Bono added:
“‘Evidence of Harm’ started conversations within families and provided proof to power beyond any we had ever achieved — leading those who learned from his book to speak to others, who then spoke to others. That remained true over the years and to this day.
“We are where we are today thanks in part to David. I will be forever grateful.”
David’s tenderhearted nature and quest for justice didn’t stop with children. It also extended to the animals so often mistreated in captivity and to other victims of the system.
His “Animal Factory” book broke his heart when his research led him to witness the abysmal treatment of animals raised solely for consumption. The pigs, crying and squealing, knowing they were to be slaughtered, ripped his heart into shreds — yet he took what he learned and wove it into a book that will stand the test of time.
As our movement struggles with the news of David’s passing, we must hold onto the hope that we will see him again one day, when he will cheerfully meet us with his signature greeting: Hola!
We will hear about his fascinating travels and the exciting people he feels lucky enough to have spoken with along the way. He’ll also tell us about the latest great idea for his next new book, in which he will no doubt expose the truth for victims who have been silenced.
Until then, rest in peace, dear friend.
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