David was born in Florence, Texas, on the 2nd of October, 1897, and at the age of 19, he joined the US Navy Hospital Corps in May of 1917. After training at San Diego Naval Base, he moved to Quantico, Virginia, and was then attached to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines when he deployed to Europe during World War 1. David was a Hospital Apprentice First Class during the Battle of St Mihiel when his actions earned him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. During the advance, when Cpl. Creed was mortally wounded while crossing an open field swept by machinegun fire, Hayden unhesitatingly ran to his assistance and, finding him so severely wounded as to require immediate attention, disregarded his own personal safety to dress the wound under intense machinegun fire, and then carried the wounded man back to a place of safety.

After the War, David was a Pharmacist's Mate Third Class, or what is now a Hospital Corpsman, and served on the troop carrier the Princess Matoika. He also participated in both the first burial of the Unknown Soldier and the burial of the Unknown Soldier from World War 2, in 1958. Once David left the Navy, he became a US Marshal in California, which he did until 1967, estimating that he had driven more than two million miles during his career of serving court documents and transporting prisoners. David Ephraim Hayden died on the 18th of March, 1974, at the age of 76 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery: Section 36, Lot 1864.