Star Notes
“A Story of Unwavering Commitment”
By Richard K. Sele
Brigadier General (Retired), US Army
The bomb blast was so powerful it jarred my insides as I watched the windows swell. It sounded like it was right outside the building where my soldiers were pulling security. My stomach tightened and sank as I thought for sure they were killed or wounded. I’d soon see Dan unconscious and covered in blood as Army medical personnel worked to keep him alive.
One of the themes I’ve often talked about at speaking engagements is “commitment.” I’m referring to commitment to the people that work for you and commitment to the organizational mission. Not much embodies this more than the story of one of my soldiers, the late Sergeant First Class Dan McKinney.
Dan was a Vietnam vet who the Army brought out of retirement to fill critical shortages in our 2005 deployment to Iraq. I met him as I took command of a unit heading to Baqubah, which is about 30 miles northeast of Baghdad and the capital of Diyala Province.
The majority of my soldiers were young and on their first combat and/or hostile fire zone deployment. This was my fifth. Dan, having served in Vietnam and a few other rough places, had a wealth of experience to share with them. I told him that I needed him to take charge of a team that would live and work in the Iraqi police headquarters in Baqubah to help the Iraqis build the capabilities of their police force. Dan’s team would work alongside an element from one of the 3rd Infantry Division’s maneuver battalions in our area. I told him that I needed him to share his experience with the soldiers and teach them how to survive in these dangerous conditions.
About three months into the deployment, on August 23, 2005, I was in a meeting at the Iraqi Provincial Council building. Dan was at the police headquarters across the street and further down the road. A couple of hours into the council session a bomb blast shook our building. My security detail was outside in front and I immediately thought that they were hit in the bombing. I called the sergeant in charge of my security detail who was standing outside the conference room and told him to get a status on our personnel.
Meanwhile Iraqi council members in the room ran to the windows to see what happened. They saw smoke coming from the police compound. Dan and seven of my soldiers were over there. My security chief was already by that time getting a status check on them. Within several minutes he confirmed Dan was critically wounded. Honestly, I felt sick to my stomach at that point. A MEDEVAC was already en route to take him and other wounded personnel back to our nearby operating base called Warhorse.
I soon learned that a suicide bomber detonated in the dining facility where American and Iraqi soldiers and civilian contractors were eating. My security detail and I mounted our armored Humvee’s and returned to Warhorse going straight to the medical building where Dan was already on a table being stabilized. He was unconscious and very badly wounded.
As soon as he was stable enough, he was flown to the medical facility at Balad airbase, which wasn’t too far from Baqubah. Doctors continued to treat Dan and within a day or so he was flown out to Germany, where he received more advanced care at Landstuhl Army Hospital. Along the way I kept informed on his status and started to get an idea of how seriously wounded he really was. He almost died a couple of times. As soon as he was stable enough he was flown back to Walter Reed in DC.
After a few weeks went by I was finally able to talk to him on the phone. The first thing he told me, in his groggy voice, was “Boss, I let you down.” I paused to make sure I heard him right, and then asked him why he said that. He told me that he needed to be with his soldiers. They were still there in Iraq and they still had a lot to learn. He was worried about not being with them. I reassured Dan that he didn’t let me down, and in fact, one of the young soldiers that he took under his wing was in charge of the team and doing a great job because of Dan. His comment “…I let you down” spoke volumes about his character and commitment.
To better appreciate what Dan went through I’ll share with you something he sent to me as he recovered in Walter Reed. He tried to piece together in his mind what happened and wrote this short passage about the moments immediately following the blast:
“I turn back to the mess. The air is filled with that mix of smoke, gunpowder residue, dust and debris. The scent of blood, food, and the sound of murmurs of voices come to me through the background of the ringing and sound of rushing water in my ears. Images are registering in my head…smoky images of people trying to regain their feet, pushing up from the floor, stumbling against a tumble of tables, chairs, vending machines, bricks, and concrete. Blood splashed in streaks along the remaining walls and starting to pool in bright spots on the floor. Where a moment before there had been 25 people in a make-shift room there are now bodies among the debris. Sunlight filters into the room from holes where a moment before there had been walls and doors. I turn back and more images burn into my brain. Walls bulging outward, doors missing, bodies on the ground as I move toward the dining area. Iraqis lying on the ground outside the room, clothing partially or completely burned off. I tell them to lay still and help is on the way. Seconds later I am standing in the doorway trying to figure out where to start…a body to my front on the floor. A few people I begin to recognize…James and Mike covered in dust and blood, Mike looks bad and Terry is yelling that he can’t hear. Just as I begin to figure out how I am going to get into the room, someone grabs me from behind…it’s one of the MP’s (Military Police soldiers). A young kid, eyes wide, all geared up with his weapon, helmet and body armor. Damn he looks good. At least if we’re under attack there is at least one person near me who is prepared to fight and defend the wounded.”
Dan’s image of that soldier emerging from the smoke exemplifies the warrior ethos that our soldiers live by: “I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.” After an extensive recovery and his release from Walter Reed Dan worked with the Special Operations Command’s Care Coalition as a Wounded Warrior Liaison for wounded, ill and injured Special Operations Forces. He dedicated his remaining years in uniform traveling around the country taking care of our soldiers until he passed away in Nov 2014 after a short fight with a very fast and aggressive cancer. Dan’s unwavering commitment to soldiers and his mission is truly inspiring.
