[1] The elder Shanks was an American Civil War veteran of the Confederate States Army and attained the rank of colonel.

[4] At the start of the Spanish–American War, Shanks was assigned as mustering officer, quartermaster, and commissary in Richmond, Virginia.

[4] Responsible for organizing and training Virginia soldiers who joined the United States Volunteers, Shanks served in Richmond from May 1, 1898, to February 1, 1899.

[4] From April 1903 to July 1903, Shanks served as quartermaster of the 18th Infantry in Tacloban on the Philippine island of Leyte.

[4] From July 1903 to October 1905, Shanks served with the civil government of the Philippines as governor of the province of Cavite.

[4] From August 1909 to June 1912 Shanks served on recruiting duty at Columbus Barracks, Ohio, and at Fort Logan, Colorado.

[4] From January to March 1913, Shanks attended the School for Field Officers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

[4] Responsible to plan and execute transportation of Army soldiers and equipment to France, he served in this position from July 1917 to September 1918.

[4] He had responsibility for receiving soldiers and equipment returning from France and arranging for onward transportation, and held this command From December 1918 to April 1920.

[4] The citation for his Army DSM reads: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General David Cary Shanks, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I, for services in the administration of the Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey, in connection with the shipment of troops overseas.The Navy DSM states the following: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Major General David Cary Shanks, United States Army, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding General, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey.

General Shanks inexhaustible energy, close co-operation with the Navy and excellent judgment in deciding questions of policy contributed greatly to the successful transportation of troops from the Port of Hoboken.

[4] From November 1921 to July 1922, he was president of the Army's Board for Examination, which determined which officers would be retained after World War I and at what rank.

[4] In January 1925, Shanks retired as a major general and settled in Washington, D.C.[4] A prolific writer, he authored numerous books and magazine articles, including: Management of the American Soldier (1918); As They Passed Through the Port (1927); "Golf Stories" (Golf Illustrated, November 1928); "Indian Territory Incidents" (National Sportsman, March, April, May, 1929); "Hunting Tales of the Old Army" (Forest and Stream, 1929); and Genealogy of the Shanks Family in America (1934).

[8] Named for Shanks, it was located near Orangetown, New York, and used as an embarkation center for soldiers preparing to depart for service overseas.