Missing Daniel

"Missing Daniel" is a true story about the brief life of a young sailor named Danny who was found dead on a U.S. Navy base in Vietnam. Danny was a beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend, the youngest of eight children and the namesake of the author. His life was cut short in a war zone in Vietnam, and the author grew up in the shadow of a loss that consumed his grandparents, his family, and especially his mother, Jean.

Years later, he came to understand the depth of his grandmother's grief at the loss of her Danny. The author can still hear his mother Jean's voice calling out his name and often wondered if, each time she spoke his name, it brought back the painful memories of losing her brother.

The U.S. Navy classified Danny's manner of death (MOD) as an accident, or so we were told. For years, our family has endured countless rumors surrounding the tragic event that took Danny's life, each one adding to the uncertainty about what truly happened. To this day, we have never been provided with the official findings of the JAG investigation into his death.

Though he is gone, he is never forgotten. The purpose of this book is to piece together the facts and seek the truth about what really happened to Danny on November 10th, 1969. Danny was the only casualty from CBMU-302 during the command's extensive tour in Vietnam.

Through interviews with family, friends, and members of CBMU-302, the author seeks to reconstruct Danny's life and how he died in the relative safety of a military base. Built upon years of research, this book now invites you, the reader, to assume the role of investigator and carefully examine the evidence to determine what may have occurred on that fateful day in Vietnam.