SEAL to receive posthumous honor

Jim Sheeler, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 2, 2006 at midnight

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The rescue helicopter had crashed. The Navy SEALS were wounded by Taliban gunmen, vastly overpowered and outmanned in the remote region of Afghanistan.

Danny P. Dietz kept fighting.

More than a year after the 25-year-old Navy SEAL from Littleton was killed, he has been awarded the nation's second-highest military honor, the Navy Cross.

The award - one of only 20 given for valor since fighting began in Afghanistan and Iraq, and second only to the Medal of Honor - will be presented to Dietz's widow and parents during a ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 13. The medal will also be presented posthumously to the family of Dietz's teammate, Matthew Axelson, of Cupertino, Calif.

The pair were part of an elite team of four SEALs on a reconnaissance mission "tasked with finding a key Taliban leader in mountainous terrain near Asadabad, Afghanistan," according to a Navy news release.

On June 28, 2005, "They were spotted by anti-coalition sympathizers, who immediately reported their position to Taliban fighters. A fierce gunbattle ensued between the four SEALs and a much larger enemy force with superior tactical position," the Navy release said.

The SEALs radioed for help, and a responding Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade, killing eight more SEALs and eight Army NightStalkers. It was the worst single combat loss for the SEALs since the Vietnam War.

According to the Navy, "Despite this terrible loss, the SEALS on the ground continued to fight. Although mortally wounded, Axelson and Dietz held their position and fought for the safety of their teammates despite a hail of gunfire. Their actions cost them their lives, but gave one of the other SEALs an opportunity to escape."

That SEAL, who has not been publicly identified, was sheltered by a friendly Afghan, then turned over to the U.S. military.

The Dietz family was informed of their son's death on July 4. They will receive his medal two days after the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that sparked the war in Afghanistan.

"He was tremendously brave, and he stuck around for his buddies," said Danny's father, Dan Dietz, of Littleton. "He was fighting all the time through this. I'm very proud that I'm his father. And I miss him tremendously."

At the ceremony in Washington - where his parents will stand alongside his widow, Maria - Dan Dietz said "we're just going to celebrate Danny."

And when he holds the medal, he said, "It will remind me of his dedication, his strength, and his loyalty. And his just . . . just his sheer guts."

sheelerj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2561.

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