20 years ago, a 19-year-old man stepped out of his tent near Baghdad. He brushed his teeth and smiled at his friend. Later that day, his friend would be one of the first to arrive at the young man’s side after he was struck by shrapnel during a mortar attack. The young man was the first California National Guardsmen to be killed in combat overseas and he would die being credited for saving civilian lives during that attack. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Anyone raised in, or who has lived in Exeter for long, knows this week’s Grave of the Week is Daniel Unger. It is hard to be in Exeter and not see Daniel’s presence. When visiting Unger Park you can visit the commemorative brick wall with his name. You can eat lunch at Hometown Emporium and see his picture on the wall.
Justin Queen was the friend with Daniel that fateful morning. He told the Sun Gazette, on the 10-year anniversary of Daniel’s death, “He was a kid that shouldn’t have been there. Not because he wasn’t a good soldier, he was, but because he was too good for the whole thing. That kind of goodness doesn’t belong in war.”
In between the BBQs, camping trips, and fun this weekend, please pause for a moment to remember Daniel and all those who gave their lives for our frivolities to continue. The adage, “Freedom isn’t Free,” is one of the truest sentences ever uttered. Our freedoms come with a heavy price that is paid daily with the lives of men and women who swear to protect it. Our lives are threatened every day, by enemies both foreign and domestic; the very least we can do is remember those people who died so that we can live.
Please feel free to share your positive memories of Daniel, or any service member, here. Please allow this site to be a forum for remembrance. Through memories, lives are never truly lost.
Thank you to those who gave all. Thank you to the families who received the visit no family wants to receive. Thank you to those who know the danger and continue to serve anyway.
Please continued to like, share, and follow the Exeter Cemetery District and thank you to Exeter Chamber of Commerce, Exeter Kiwanis, The City of Exeter and The Sun-Gazette Newspaper for sharing.