The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, 1LT Daniel B. Hyde, who died in the service of his country on March 7th, 2009 in Iraq. The cause of death was listed as KIA. At the time of his death Daniel was 24 years of age. He was from Modesto, California.
The decorations earned by 1LT Daniel B. Hyde include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Parachute Badge, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart,
The Following was extracted from the "Modesto Bee" newspaper from Sunday March 9, 2009
A young Modesto man who twice served as the student body president at Downey High and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., died in Iraq on Saturday.
Lt. Daniel Hyde was 24. He is the first Modesto soldier killed in Iraq since 2007.
Hyde was stationed in Samarra, Iraq, his family said. He had been deployed in October as an Airborne Ranger-qualified infantry officer with the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division.
"At school he was really popular," said friend Adam Aguilera, 23, who now lives in Washington state. "He had the athletics and the intelligence, but he was just so good toward people. Some people can have all that talent and just look down on people, but I never heard him say anything bad about anybody in our class. He just had a kindness about him."
Sunday morning, Hyde's church pastor played "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in place of the service's opening hymn and project- ed a photograph of Daniel Hyde onto screens around the chancel.
Hyde played football, basketball and golf in high school, and was a member of at least two academic honor societies, maintaining a 4.20 GPA. He volunteered at Delta Blood Bank and worked at a golf course.
A high school teammate shared one story about how, coming into a huddle even 30 to 40 points behind, "Daniel would say, 'We can still get back into it!' " Brian Hyde said. "He was never a 'give up' type."
Frank Bispo was head football coach at Downey for 10 years. He coached Hyde, a quarterback, for two of those years.
"You don't coach too many kids like him. He was a good athlete, a good student, a good person. He had it all," Bispo said. "I have four daughters and there's very few young men I would want to marry them. But he's that kind of man."
Bispo said Sunday he had received many calls from former players wanting to know if the rumors of Hyde's death were true.
"He was a leader and it just goes with the territory that he had teammates that really cared about him," Bispo said. "He never had a bad moment, even through competition. He never displayed any kind of negative attribute ever."
He graduated from Downey in 2003 and West Point in 2007.
In 2002, Daniel Hyde was featured in The Bee's Teen Hall of Fame.
He was believed to be Downey's first two-term student body president. He said his parents were his biggest influence; that his biggest dislike was people who were undisciplined; and that his advice to kids was "not to accept mediocrity in any aspect of your life."
"I just have a desire to be a leader," Hyde told The Bee. "I really couldn't stand it to watch someone else do the job. It's hard for me not to be the one person people ask for help and depend on."
Daniel Hyde was a 2007 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.
The following is from the eulogy read at Danile Hyde's memorial service:
REMARKS FROM 1LT DANIEL G. HWANG
DANIEL B. HYDE . . . REST IN PEACE MY BROTHER
(25 January 1985 7 March 2009)
MAR 21, 2009 MEMORIAL SERVICE
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference." -Reinhold Niebuhr
Good morning to all the friends of our fallen hero. Thank you for your attendance. Today we commemorate the life of 1LT Daniel Hyde, a true American Hero who gave his life for his country so that others may live. I know that Dan would want us to be celebrating his life, instead of mourning for his loss. So, I couldn't think of a better way to capture his life than to portray the memories that we shared with Dan; through a simple interaction he left a lasting impact that will stay imbedded in our hearts forever.
I met Dan as a cadet at West Point. My first impression of him, I knew he was meant for greatness. Sometimes you can just tell someone is special right when you meet them. Just the way he carried himself with the calm, cool, collectedness of a professional, a charismatic leader that everyone looks up to. We were roommates at Ft. Benning, GA as well as in Hawaii and during that time we developed a brotherly bond that brought us close together.
The fondest of our memories were those late nights when we sat around the couch at home talking about how much we missed our families back home and how blessed we were to have them. We talked about what we wanted to do with our lives, where we saw ourselves 5 and 10 years from now, the girls we've dated, the mistakes we've made, the wins and losses we've had, when we wanted to get married, how many kids we wanted, and what defines true happiness. Those conversations we shared I will hold dear to my heart.
One day in September we were eating dinner together at our home when I asked him, "Dannyboy, I'm thinking about signing up for the Honolulu Century Ride, a 100 mile bike race this weekend and it would really help to have a riding partner. What do you say? Without hesitation, Dan responded with his casual reassuring way, "Sure." Now understand, Dan has never biked competitively in his life, and he has never ridden over 10 miles on a bike, but that didn't matter to him. He cared more for others than he did himself and would never leave a fallen comrade to flap in the wind all alone. On race day, we rode all along the coastline of Oahu and during the grueling 5 hour ride complete with hills and twists and turns Dan pushed me and led the entire way. I drafted off him and several times wanted to ease up, but he wouldn't let me because he knew by pushing himself full throttle he would motivate me to push myself. We were definitely sore for 3 days, but we finished the race and I couldn't have done it without him. Few days after the race as we were sitting on the couch watching a movie at the house I asked Dan half seriously, "hey buddy, if I want to climb to the top of Mount Everest would you go with me?" Dan responded "of course I would, who else is going to push you to the top? But we should probably train up for that one."
There are so many others whose comments echo the same amount of respect, love, and endearment for Dan those of his Soldiers, those of his chain of command, those of his classmates, and those who worked closely with him. Dan was and is my role model. Anytime when I come across difficulties or hardships I ask myself "What Would Daniel Do?" I know Dan wouldn't quit. I know Dan would never quit. There are many life principles that he taught me throughout our friendship that I would like to share with you all. Smile daily. Drink lots of water and an occasional Pepsi. Laugh. Tell your family that you love them. Say you're sorry. Share with others. Learn to love. Say thank you. Listen. Hug it out. Don't hold grudges. Admit you're wrong. Work to strive for excellence. Don't quit, just keep on keepin' on and you'll get there. Be positive. Be honest to yourself and to others. Don't hate. That's so clutch. Workout and stay fit. Dance. Appreciate music. Be passionate about what you do. Follow your heart and you'll find happiness.
To the Hyde Family Mr. and Mrs. Hyde and dear Andrea. Dan lived a full life. He never stopped talking about how much he loved his family. He was blessed with so much potential. He was the best friend that anyone could ask for. He never asked for anything, but only poured out his heart to others and gave and gave and gave expecting nothing in return. He was a man everyone looked up to as a human being. Dan has achieved more and touched more people in his life than any one of us can ever hope to.
Dan lived by the words of his favorite Bible verse from Psalm 23 "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."
You are there now my friend watching over us. Dannyboy, you will be missed by every Soldier in this BN, but your spirit will remain with us forever. I love you brother with all my heart. May it be said "Well done." Be thou at peace. Always Remember, Never Surrender.
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