Army Sgt. Daniel W. Wallace

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Daniel W. Wallace, 27, of Dry Ridge, Ky.

Sgt. Wallace was assigned to the 201st Engineer Battalion, Kentucky Army National Guard in Cynthiana, Ky.; died Oct. 31, 2008 in Badin Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire.


Ky. National Guard soldier killed in Afghanistan
By Joe Biesk
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Kentucky National Guard soldier was killed in Afghanistan last week when his platoon was attacked by a group of Taliban fighters, military officials said Monday.

Sgt. Daniel Wallace, 27, was killed in action Friday in the West Paktika Province of Afghanistan, Kentucky Adjutant General Edward Tonini said.

Wallace, a gunner in a Mine-Resistant, Armor-Protected vehicle, was shot when he got out to handle a piece of equipment that had been knocked loose, Tonini said.

“Sgt. Daniel Wallace was a true patriot,” Tonini said at a news conference. “One who stood up and answered the call to serve his nation in a time of need.”

Wallace’s death marked the 17th member of the Kentucky National Guard to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001. Wallace, who was assigned to the Kentucky National Guard’s 201st Engineer Battalion, was the third to die in Afghanistan.

Wallace, of Dry Ridge, has been posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, and has been promoted to the rank of sergeant. Wallace joined the National Guard in May 2006 and was on his first deployment.

Tonini said Wallace’s platoon was conducting a mission to find and remove improvised explosive devices when one of the vehicles got stuck. Wallace was shot and killed when he left the vehicle he was in to handle a piece of equipment that had been knocked loose, prompting a firefight that led to the deaths of up to 20 Taliban fighters, Tonini said.

“At the time, there were many villagers planting winter wheat in the fields, there were goat herders all around, children playing near the roadways,” Tonini said. “It was a typical example of what we expect to be a safe area — because typically we don’t see people when there are to be ambushes or any kind of instances like we had here at this point.”

Wallace’s brother, Spc. Alex Wallace, is a medic in the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 940th Military Police Company. Alex Wallace said he and his brother had decided to make the military their career.

“I am proud of my brother,” he said. “I’m going to keep carrying on. I know he wants me to serve my full time, which is what I’m going to do.”

His mother, Karen Wallace, said her son loved being in the military and was also very religious and helped his unit’s chaplain. A tearful Karen Wallace said her son had asked her to write to other soldiers who had not recently received letters of their own.

“Danny had a lot, a lot of sympathy for people,” she said. “Danny’s my fallen hero.”

Funeral services set for Kentucky soldier
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The funeral for a Kentucky National Guard soldier killed in Afghanistan has been set for Saturday.

Guard spokesman Col. Phil Miller says the funeral for 27-year-old Sgt. Daniel Wallace of Dry Ridge will be held at 2 p.m. at the Grant County High School auditorium.

Wallace was killed last week when his platoon was attacked by a group of Taliban fighters. He was assigned to the Kentucky National Guard’s 201st Engineer Battalion.

Miller said visitation for Wallace will be Friday at the Eckler-McDaniel Funeral Home in Dry Ridge and continue Saturday at Grant County High School before the funeral.

Miller said burial with full military honors will be conducted at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North at Williamstown immediately after funeral services.

Army Sgt. Daniel W. Wallace was killed in action on 10/31/08.