Army Sgt. Daniel W. Wallace

Died October 31, 2008 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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

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Ky. National Guardsman 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.”

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Nearly 400 remember Ky. soldier at funeral service

The Associated Press

DRY RIDGE, Ky. — Nearly 400 people paid their respects Saturday to a Kentucky National Guard soldier who was killed in Afghanistan, and they remembered Sgt. Daniel Wayne Wallace’s faith and his love of his two children.

Wallace was killed Oct. 31 when his platoon was attacked by a group of Taliban fighters. He was assigned to the Kentucky National Guard’s 201st Engineer Battalion. The Dry Ridge native was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals and promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Gov. Steve Beshear last week ordered flags to half-staff on Saturday to honor both Wallace and Staff Sgt. Scott J. Metcalf, 36, of Framingham, Mass., who was killed Oct. 29 from injuries suffered in a noncombat-related incident in Iraq.

Metcalf’s funeral was scheduled Saturday in Clarkesville, Tenn., with burial at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West in Hopkinsville. Metcalf, a unit supply specialist, was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

Wallace’s friends and family members gathered at the gymnasium of Grant County High School, where the 27-year-old graduated in 2001. Later they went to Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North in Williamstown for his burial.

Pastors spoke about Wallace’s faith and how he became a born-again Christian.

“He was an excellent man who served the Lord. He was a great man of God,” said Roger Phelps with the Family Tabernacle Church of God in Glencoe.

Last week, Kentucky Adjutant General Edward Tonini said the guardsman, who was 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.

He joined the National Guard in May 2006 and was on his first deployment. His death marked the 17th member of the Kentucky National Guard to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001. He was the third to die in Afghanistan.

Wallace leaves behind two children, Abigail Wallace and Cody Mardis; a sister, Kim; brothers Kenneth Wallace Jr., Brian Wallace and Alex Wallace; and grandfather Arvis Sinclair.

“He was a fun-loving guy,” said Paula Fields, Wallace’s friend of 20 years. “And his children meant everything to him.”