Danny Dietz Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Danny Phillip Dietz,
Jr. of Littleton, Colorado was a U.S. Navy SEAL who was posthumously awarded the United
States' second highest citation for valor, the Navy Cross, on September 13, 2006.
Biography Danny Dietz Jr. was born on January 26, 1980
in Aurora, Colorado.
He was the son of Danny Phillip Sr. and Cindy Dietz, and brother to Tiffany Bitz and Eric
Dietz.
He was a 1999 graduate of Heritage High School.
He earned his black belt in Taekwondo from the Korean Academy of Taekwondo.
Dietz enlisted in the Navy on August 31, 1999.
Following his graduating from Recruit Training Command, Naval Station Great Lakes, on November
27, 1999, he completed Gunner's Mate "A" School at the Naval Air Technical Training Center
in Pensacola, Florida.
From there he transferred to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training and graduated with
Class 232 in 2001.
Dietz went on to attend the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning in Georgia, then SEAL
Qualification Training and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Training.
Immediately upon checking in at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 in Virginia Beach, Virginia,
on November 8, 2001, he was assigned to Task Unit Bravo as the secondary SDV pilot and
the Ordnance and Engineering Department head.
In Virginia Beach, In April 2005, Dietz deployed with his Special Reconnaissance element to
Afghanistan to support Naval Special Warfare Squadron TEN in the prosecution of the Global
War on Terrorism.
His larger than lifesize bronze memorial in Littleton, Colorado was created by sculptor
Robert Henderson of Canon City, Colorado.
The South Wing of the Pacific Beacon Apartments at Naval Station San Diego is named Dietz
Hall as well.
Operation Red Wings Dietz was 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, SEAL Team 10 was assigned to kill or capture a high ranking Taliban
leader in the Hindu Kush mountains.
The SEAL team was made up of Michael P. Murphy, Marcus Luttrell, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson.
Luttrell and Axelson were the team's snipers while Dietz and Murphy were the spotters.
"They were spotted by anti-Coalition sympathizers, who immediately reported their position to
Taliban fighters.
A fierce gun-battle 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 Night Stalkers.
It was the second worst single combat loss for the SEALs in SEAL history.
Dietz was the first casualty of the battle, and was killed before the helicopter's arrival.
Posthumous awards The location of Dietz's body was unknown for
seven days.
His remains were recovered during a combat search and rescue operation on July 4, 2005.
Dietz was returned to the United States, where he was interred with full military honors.
His hometown of Littleton, Colorado honored his memory by erecting a statue of Dietz in
uniform holding his rifle, which was unveiled on July 4, 2007.
This was not without controversy however.
Local parents, suggesting that the statue of Dietz glorified violence, tried to have
the statue altered.
The statue, they argued, was three blocks from a school.
The Littleton city council stated that 150 emails and letters were received in support
of keeping the memorial as is, there was only one in favor of changing it.
After an even larger backlash against the parents group, the monument was erected with
Dietz holding his service weapon as intended.
A section of Santa Fe Drive (US Highway 85) between I-25 and C470 has been named the "Navy
Seal Danny Phillip Dietz, Jr.
Memorial Highway."
Military awards In media
In the 2013 film Lone Survivor, Dietz is portrayed by actor Emile Hirsch.