Honoring and Remembering SGT Daniel Gionet – NH Hero
Remembering SGT Daniel Gionet – he died on June 4, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M1A2 tank during combat operations. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
After the bomb shattered the tank he was riding in, Dan tended to the wounded around him, ignoring his serious injuries. When a medic unit finally arrived, he made his last decision. Dan said, “Don’t deal with me. Go help the lieutenant. He’s in greater danger than me”.
He attended Pelham High School where he was a three-season athlete. He was on the football team, baseball team, and was one of the students who helped turn the school’s wrestling club into an official school team. He received the school’s sportsmanship award. When he graduated from high school in 2001, he enlisted in the Army. By 2004, Daniel was serving as a cook for U.S. and Romanian soldiers at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan but he never really got around to cooking. Enemy fire occupied so much of the time that he had to be an infantryman and fight like the rest of the unit. By May 2004, Daniel’s desire to help others led him to re-enlist and to retrain as a medic. He was deployed to Iraq last December, just before Christmas. In Nov, before his deployment, he married Katrina, the love of his life. How much did he love her? Here is the message on his cell phone: “If this is Katrina, you are the love of my life. – PAUSE – If it’s not Katrina, you know who you called. Leave a message”. There are many things to know about Daniel – he could make you laugh on the worst day of your life, he loved to fish, loved healthy fruit bars (but hated MREs), loved beef jerky and tollhouse cookies. He planned to study culinary arts after completing his service in 2008 and become a professional cook. He didn’t want his family to worry about him so he told them he was safe and his patrol time had been cut from 36-hour shifts to 12-hour stretches. He also told them, “I’m safe. I’m in a tank where nothing can penetrate”. Daniel’s bride Katrina received his Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
