<p>It is not possible to capture in a brief memorial all that <em>Daniel Joseph Coonan III</em> (called “Danny” at West Point and “Dan” in later years) was, all that he accomplished, and all that he meant to his family, his West Point classmates (including his West Point B-1 roommate), the United States Air Force, his colleagues, and his country. However, certain words come up frequently in describing Dan throughout his life, from his years as a cadet at West Point, through his distinguished 26 years in the Air Force, and his retirement. These words include “courage,” “fortitude,” “determination,” “humility,” “good friend,” “open,” “honest,” “passionate,” “loyal,” “self-demanding,” and “ cheerful.”<br />Dan seemed destined for the Air Force from his first day in “Beast Barracks” at West Point. His father was a colonel and B-17 pilot in the Air Force, and Dan admired him greatly. Even when the rules at West Point changed to require all graduates to go into the Army, Dan qualified for an exception for sons of Air Force members.<br />As noted in the 1966 <em>Howitzer</em>, “Whether jumping out of airplanes or creating new characters with his magic drawing pencils, his good-natured devotion to duty and ability to get any job done will surely lead him to success.” Those words proved to be prescient. Dan advanced to the rank of colonel and, among other awards, received the Legion of Merit while in the Air Force.<br />Besides his Bachelor of Science degree from West Point, Dan earned a Master of Arts degree in Business Management. Early on, Dan was assigned as Officer in Charge of three highly specialized parachute-qualified combat control teams (“CCT’s”). CCT’s are expertly trained for deep insertion by water, air, or overland with Army and Navy special operations teams worldwide. The epitome of “courage,” he and his teams served in Vietnam, Okinawa, and the United States.<br />Dan’s special qualifications were many and ranged from Master Parachutist (125 military parachute jumps) to jungle and arctic survival. Dan’s assignments and contributions coincided with historical world developments. He was assigned to command the services squadron at the crossroads of international activity at Rhein Main Air Base in Germany between 1983 and 1985. Among his many accomplishments at Rhein Main, Dan personally met and cared for Vice President George H. Bush twice when he was en route to the state funerals of two Russian leaders. Also, he was a part of the sad, daunting task of identifying and onward transporting the Marines who were killed in the 1983 attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. He was especially proud of his challenging assignment as base commander (or as Dan said, “city manager”) for Scott Air Force Base, IL. As commander of the 375th Support Group, he had responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the installation, which included many tenant organizations. His command directly supported Operation Desert Storm by deploying personnel to the Middle East and operating an airfield in the United Arab Emirates.<br />Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1992, Dan continued to apply his experience, expertise and skills in the civilian world. He set up his own consulting companies, which utilized his many skills. Those skills included leadership development, project development, international business development and strategic vision/mission planning. The magnitude, complexity, technical challenges, and geographical extent of Dan’s post-retirement consulting projects simply reflected a continuation of the successes he had achieved in the Air Force.<br />Dan dearly loved his family: the love of his life, Fran, his wife since 1970; his daughter, Rebecca; his son, Danny IV; and his grandson, Joseph. Dan and Fran met in 1969 when Dan was stationed in Okinawa and Fran had previously graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and signed up to teach with the Department of Defense. Dan noticed Fran, a beautiful blonde from Texas, when she was getting off the airplane in Okinawa. Dan persisted until they fell in love, and as Danny IV has said, “The rest is history.”<br />Danny IV delivered a beautiful, moving eulogy at the West Point funeral for Dan on June 8, 2017, exactly 51 years from the date of Dan’s graduation. Danny IV observed that Dan “grew his strength at West Point and with the Combat Controllers of the Air Force—Black and Gold, the Long Gray Line, and the Scarlet Red Beret.”<br />Dan’s family’s heartfelt words say so much about Dan and speak so well for all who knew him: “Like many soldiers, his was a soul gentled by his service as a warrior. We thought he was brilliant, full of good humor and playful wit. He saw the world with uncommon clarity, from matters of the heart to the unfolding of history into the present—a true romantic yet a realist in the best sense. He understood war, he embodied love, he lived with quiet faith. He was a good man. We loved him dearly. To us, he was the best man.”<br />Dan clearly expressed his sentiments, shown in the 25th Reunion Memory Book of the Class of 1966, when he wrote in his biographical sketch: “And, to all my classmates I express my most profound admiration and pride—to be counted in your number is my most esteemed treasure. God bless you all.”<br />We have truly lost, too soon, a wonderful family man, friend, classmate, and colleague. As Dan’s 7-year old grandson, Joseph, said, with wisdom beyond his years, “Opa is with Jesus and has seen the face of God.”<br /><em>–Charles Moore ’66, roommate, and family</em></p>