Danny Dietz (1980-2005) was a U.S. Navy SEAL who was part of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 (SDVT-1), which participated in Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan in 2005 . In June 2005, Dietz died while participating in Operation Red Wings. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, the second highest decoration of the U.S. Navy.
Wiki/Biography
Danny Phillip Dietz Jr. was born on Saturday, January 26, 1980, in Aurora, Colorado, USA (age 25 at the time of death). His zodiac sign is Aquarius.
Danny Dietz childhood photos
In 1999, he completed his education at Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado. Thereafter, he joined the United States Navy and reported to U.S. Navy boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago, Illinois, where he completed his military training and completed his studies. Joined the Navy as a sailor on November 27, 1999.
Danny’s photo taken at his school graduation ceremony
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′10″
Weight (approximately): 65kg
Hair color: dark brown
Eye color: dark brown
family
Danny Dietz was born into a Christian family of the Native American Apache tribe.
Parents and siblings
His father’s name was Danny Philip Dietz Sr. He served in the United States Navy. His mother’s name was Cynthia Dietz Marsh. He has two siblings, a brother named Eric Dietz and a sister named Tiffany Beetz.
Photos of Danny’s family
wife and children
On March 14, 2003, Danny Dietz married Maria Paz Leveque Dietz. She served in the United States Navy and retired in 2005. After Dietz’s death, she remarried. She is the co-founder of the Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Foundation (NSDDF).
Danny Dietz and Maria Paz Leveque Dietz
religion
He followed Christianity.
Profession
training period
After completing military training, Dietz reported to Gunner Mate “A” School at the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Florida, where he received advanced training in radar operations. He then attended the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) 232 course and became a U.S. Navy SEAL. He later reported to the U.S. Army Airborne School (also known as Jump School) at Fort Moore, Georgia, where he received basic parachute (military paratrooper) training. He then underwent 26 weeks of SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) and SEAL Delivery Vehicle training. In January 2001, he received the Naval Special Warfare Badge, also known as the SEAL Trident Badge.
Photos of Danny during his SEAL training
deploy
Virginia
On November 8, 2001, Dietz deployed to Virginia, where he joined SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 (SDVT-2) and was assigned to Task Force Bravo as an SDV pilot II and the Chief of the Ordnance and Engineering Department.
Danny Dietz wearing a Navy SEAL uniform in front of the American flag
Afghanistan
In April 2005, Dietz was deployed to Afghanistan as a member of the Special Reconnaissance Team. Their mission is to assist Naval Special Warfare Squadron 10 in combating global terrorism.
Photos taken by Danny Dietz while in Afghanistan
Operation Red Wings
On June 28, 2005, a four-man SEAL team consisting of Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny Dietz, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Axelson and Petty Officer 2nd Class Marku Composed of S. A. Luttrell, deployed to the mountainous Kunar province of Afghanistan, tasked with gathering intelligence and killing/capturing senior Taliban leader Ahmed Shah, who is reportedly hiding in Kunar, Afghanistan Er Province.
Photos of Ahmed Shah
However, their mission is affected when they are discovered by a group of local shepherds. According to Marcus Luttrell’s book “Lone Survivor: Eyewitness Accounts of Operation Red Wings and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10,” the team faced a critical decision: Yes Kill the herders and continue the mission, or free them and abort the mission. Choosing the latter, they let the herders go, but soon after, as soon as the herdsmen let the herders go, they notified the Taliban of the presence of the SEALs and were ambushed by the Taliban army.
Photos of Danny and Marcus A. Luttrell
By the end of the firefight, Murphy, Dietz and Axelson were killed. Marcus Luttrell survived but was seriously injured. Marcus’ claim that the goat herders informed the Taliban was refuted by Mohammad Gulab Khan, a resident of Saralban village in Kunar province who rescued the injured Luttrell from the Taliban. According to Gulab, the sound of the helicopter’s rotors that dropped the four-man SEAL team onto the mountain alerted enemy fighters in the mountain. Speaking about this in an interview, Gulab said:
Gulab claimed that, like many others in the area, the militants heard the sound of helicopters landing Americans on the mountain. The next morning, they began searching for the SEALs’ distinctive footprints. When the militants finally found them, the Americans were considering what to do with the Shepherds. The insurgents retreated. After Marcus Luttrell and his company rescued the natives, the gunners waited for the right moment to strike. “
Collage of U.S. Armed Forces soldiers killed during Operation Red Wings
For his actions during Operation Red Wings, Dietz was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart.
military ornaments
- Navy Cross (Posthumous) (September 13, 2006)
- Purple Heart (Posthumous)
- Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
- Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
- National Defense Service Medal and Bronze Service Star
- Afghanistan Campaign Medal
- Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
- Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
- Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
- National Defense Service Medal
Honor and Legacy
- On July 4, 2007, a life-size bronze statue of Dietz was erected in Littleton, Colorado, with his rifle resting on one knee in a “review rest” position. The statue also bears his Navy Cross.
Photos of the life-size bronze statue of Danny in Colorado
- Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Highway was named in memory of Danny Dietz on August 18, 2009. The section extends from Interstate 25 to Colorado Highway 470.
Danny Dietz Memorial Highway Commission photo
- After his death, his wife co-founded the Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Foundation (NSDDF), which provides assistance to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- The Danny Dietz Memorial Day Classic has been held since 2010 at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds in Rosenberg, Texas. The event combines a charity fundraiser with rodeo celebrations.
- After Danny Dietz’s death, his uniform was displayed in a museum in Colorado.
Photo showing Danny’s uniform
bicycle collection
He owns a Yamaha YZF-R6.
Danny poses for photos on his bike
tattoo
He has three tattoos in total, a tribal tattoo between his shoulder blades, a tattoo of the Grim Reaper wrapped in an American flag, and a tribal tattoo of a gargoyle on one sleeve.
die
Danny Dietz was killed in action on June 28, 2005, during Operation Red Wings in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Danny Dietz was injured in a firefight with the Taliban, spraining his ankle while trying to evade Taliban forces. Unable to walk. His teammate Marcus Luttrell carried him to safety and called for evacuation; however, while Luttrell was carrying Dietz, he inadvertently knocked Dietz over while losing his balance. in the path of the bullet. The bullet hit Dietz in the back of the head, killing him. After Dietz was hit, Latrell lost his balance, causing them to fall down the hill. Marcus said of this in an interview:
We got to a point and I told him there was another way for us to fall and as I put my arms under him I put them under his shoulders and as I rotated him to take the fall I put He spins into a bullet. It hit him in the back of the head, killing him. ”
On July 4, 2005, a U.S. Air Force pararescue team discovered Danny’s body during a search and rescue operation in Kunar Province.
U.S. Navy personnel carry Danny Dietz’s coffin
He was buried with full military honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado, on July 14, 2005.
Photos of Danny’s grave
Facts/Trivia
- His friends and family affectionately call him DJ.
- While in school, Danny attended the Korean Taekwondo Academy, where he earned a black belt in Taekwondo.
Danny Dietz shows off his skills dealing with Sister Chuck
- Danny is very interested in sports, especially rock climbing.
Danny Dietz rock climbing photo
- Danny Dietz wanted to be a ninja, his sister said in an interview.
- He is an avid animal lover. In an interview, his father revealed that Danny Dietz disliked attending rodeos because he firmly believed that such occasions caused pain to the horses involved. He also owns two pet dogs.
Photo of Danny and his pet dog
- He is passionate about painting and fishing.
Photo of Danny’s pencil sketch
- He played rugby as a student and was a member of the school rugby team.
Danny Dietz poses with his college football team
- Danny: The Virtue Within, an in-depth look at his life, was published in December 2013.
- Actor Emile Hirsch played Danny Dietz in the 2013 Hollywood film “Lone Survivor,” based on Operation Red Wings.
Emile Hirsch as Danny Dietz in the 2013 film Lone Survivor
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education