Danny Dietz
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Danny Phillip Dietz Jr. (January 26, 1980 – June 28, 2005) was a
Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...
who was awarded the U.S. Navy's second-highest decoration, the
Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...
, along with the
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
, for his actions during the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
.


Early life and education

Dietz was born on January 26, 1980, in
Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...
to parents Cindy and Danny P. Dietz Sr. He was of
Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
ancestry. He graduated from Heritage High School in Littleton in 1999.


Career

Dietz enlisted in the Navy on August 31, 1999. After graduating from Recruit Training Command at
Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only current recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Important tenan ...
on November 27, 1999, he completed
Gunner's Mate The United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating of gunner's mate (GM) is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" sch ...
'A' School there. He then transferred to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training and graduated with Class 232 in 2001. Dietz attended the Basic Airborne Course at
Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...
, followed by SEAL Qualification Training and
SEAL Delivery Vehicle The SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) is a crewed submersible and a type of swimmer delivery vehicle used to deliver United States Navy SEALs and their equipment for special operations missions. It is operated by SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams. The SDV, ...
(SDV) Training. Upon checking in at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 in
Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...
, on November 8, 2001, he was assigned to Task Unit Bravo as the secondary SDV pilot and the Ordnance and Engineering Department head. In April 2005, Dietz deployed with his Special Reconnaissance component to Afghanistan to support
Naval Special Warfare The United States Naval Special Warfare Command (USNSWC), also known as NAVSPECWARCOM and WARCOM, is the naval component of United States Special Operations Command, the unified command that oversees and conducts the nation's special operatio ...
Squadron TEN in the Global War on Terrorism.


Operation Red Wings

Operation Red Wings Operation Red Wings (often incorrectly referred to as ''Operation Redwing'' or ''Operation Red Wing''), informally referred to as the Battle of Abbas Ghar, was a joint military operation conducted by the United States in the Pech District ...
was a counter-insurgency operation by the United States Armed Forces to kill or capture Ahmad Shah (code name Ben Sharmak), a known terrorist and head of the militia "Mountain Tigers". The operation was carried out, on 27 June 2005, by
Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...
Team TEN; the four-man team was made up of 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson and 2nd Class
Marcus Luttrell Marcus Luttrell (born November 7, 1975) is a retired United States Navy SEAL who received the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for his disputed actions in June 2005 against Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wings in which he was the lone survivor ...
supporting the role of snipers, while 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz and team leader Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy were spotters. The mission was compromised after goat herders stumbled upon the
SEALs Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
and reported them to the Taliban after the SEALs let them go free. An intense firefight ensued after the SEALs were ambushed by Taliban insurgents who outnumbered them twenty-five to one. Murphy went into an open clearing to get reception and call for support; he managed to reach the base, giving them the SEALs location as well as the number of enemies. Exposed to enemy fire, he was shot in the back while making the call; it was this act that awarded Murphy the
Medal Of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
posthumously. Murphy then returned to his team to continue the battle. Low on ammunition, Murphy, Axelson and Danny Dietz were killed while Luttrell was knocked unconscious by an RPG. The support dispatched was a team of eight Navy SEALs and eight 160th SOAR Army night stalkers. However, all sixteen Special Forces soldiers aboard the helicopter perished, when the
CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...
was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade that ignited the fuel tanks just as the soldiers were about to fast rope. Among the dead aboard the helicopter were Lieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen, the highest-ranking officer to die in the operation, and Kip A. Jacoby, the youngest soldier to die in the operation, at the age of 21. SEAL Marcus Luttrell was the sole survivor of SEAL Team TEN. He was aided by an Afghan villager who sheltered him and was rescued by Army Rangers six days later. Danny Dietz, Matthew Axelson and Michael Murphy were declared
killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...
after their bodies were recovered on 4 July.


Death

Dietz was mortally wounded after taking the brunt of the initial attack. This led to him losing the ability to walk, and as a result, Luttrell carried him on his way up the mountain, while Dietz responded to him. A bullet penetrated the back of his head and killed him instantly; Dietz's dead weight came as a surprise to Luttrell and as a result, he fell over the edge of the mountain with Dietz's body and was seriously injured. Dietz's body was found by a group of U.S. Air Force
pararescuemen Pararescuemen (also known as Pararescue Jumpers or PJs) are United States Air Force Special operations, special operators who conduct personnel recovery and combat search and rescue operations as well as other missions for the U.S. military and ...
during a search and rescue operation, on July 4, 2005, and returned to the United States. Dietz was buried with full military honors at
Fort Logan National Cemetery Fort Logan National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery, United States National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. Fort Logan, a former U.S. Army installation, was named after Union General John A. Logan, commander of US Volunteer forces dur ...
in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
.


Personal life

Dietz is survived by his mother, Cindy, father, Dan Sr., sister Tiffany and brother Eric. Dietz was known to show appreciation toward the outdoors and he enjoyed fishing and rock climbing. He had a black belt in Taekwondo from the
Korean Academy of Taekwondo The Korean Academy of Taekwondo is one of Colorado's Taekwondo and martial arts schools. The school was founded in February 1980 by Grandmaster Jae Kyu Chung. The school has produced numerous tournament champions and has trained thousands of ...
.


Awards and decorations


Navy Cross

On September 13, 2006, Dietz was posthumously awarded the
Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...
by Navy Secretary
Donald C. Winter Donald Charles Winter (born June 15, 1948) is an Americans, American technologist and business leader who served as United States Secretary of the Navy. A former top executive of TRW, Aerospace & Defense, he was nominated in 2005 by President Geor ...
.


Citation

For extraordinary heroism in actions against the enemy while serving in a four-man Special Reconnaissance element with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE, Naval Special Warfare Task unit, Afghanistan from 27 to 28 June 2005. Petty Officer Dietz demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of grave danger in the vicinity of Asadabad, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Operating in the middle of an enemy-controlled area, in extremely rugged terrain, his Special Reconnaissance element was tasked with locating a high-level Anti-Coalition Militia leader, in support of a follow-on direct action mission to disrupt enemy activity. On 28 June 2005, the element was spotted by Anti-Coalition Militia sympathizers, who immediately revealed their position to the militia fighters. As a result, the element directly encountered the enemy. Demonstrating exceptional resolve and fully understanding the gravity of the situation and his responsibility to his teammates, Petty Officer Dietz fought valiantly against the numerically superior and positionally advantaged enemy force. Remaining behind in a hailstorm of enemy fire, Petty Officer Dietz was wounded by enemy fire. Despite his injuries, he bravely fought on, valiantly defending his teammates and himself in a harrowing gunfight, until he was mortally wounded. By his undaunted courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and absolute devotion to his teammates, Petty Officer Dietz will long be remembered for the role he played in the Global War on Terrorism. Petty Officer Dietz's courageous and selfless heroism, exceptional professional skill, and utmost devotion to duty reflected great credit upon him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for the cause of freedom.


Legacy

On July 4, 2007, the town of
Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...
erected a bronze lifesize statue of Dietz holding his rifle in a 'parade-rest' position on one knee. It contained the same statement on the Navy Cross citation. On August 18, 2009, the span of South Santa Fe Drive between Interstate 25 and Colorado State Highway 470 was named Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Highway in his honor. Starting in 2010, the Danny Dietz Memorial Day Classic is a fundraiser /
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
event held the weekend of Memorial Day at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds in
Rosenberg, Texas Rosenberg is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and Fort Bend County. Rosenberg was named for Henry Von Rosenberg, who immigrated to Texas from Switzerland in 1843. Von ...
. For the 2013 film ''
Lone Survivor ''Lone Survivor'' is a 2013 American action drama film based on the 2007 nonfiction book by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson. Set during the war in Afghanistan, it dramatizes the unsuccessful United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent ...
'', which covered the events of
Operation Red Wings Operation Red Wings (often incorrectly referred to as ''Operation Redwing'' or ''Operation Red Wing''), informally referred to as the Battle of Abbas Ghar, was a joint military operation conducted by the United States in the Pech District ...
, Dietz was portrayed by actor
Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. His portrayal of Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007) earned him acclaim and multiple award nominations. Other notable roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), '' ...
.


See also

* List of people from Littleton, Colorado


Further reading

*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dietz, Danny 1980 births 2005 deaths United States Navy SEALs personnel Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) People from Aurora, Colorado Military personnel from Colorado American military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Burials at Fort Logan National Cemetery United States Navy non-commissioned officers Native American United States military personnel