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Soldiers from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command gathered at the chapel on Daenner Kaserne April 17 to pay their respects to one of their own during a memorial ceremony.
Sgt. Daniel J. Beard, 24, of Buffalo, N.Y., died April 3 of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident in Al Diwaniyah, Iraq.
Sergeant Daniel was assigned to the 147th Adjutant General Company in Wiesbaden, Germany, which is part of the 21st TSC Special Troops Battalion on Panzer Kaserne.
Sergeant Beard, who enlisted in the Army Feb. 3, 2005, deployed to Iraq May 31, 2008. There, he served with the 3rd Platoon (Postal) of the 147th AG Co. and was attached to the 408th Human Resources Company as a technical inspector.
Capt. Ramon Torres, Sergeant Beard’s company commander, said he hopes his family and friends will find a small measure of solace knowing he died surrounded by his fellow Soldiers – his friends and battle buddies.
“He was a shining example of everything an American Soldier is supposed to be,” he said.
Sergeant Beard’s comrades in arms remember him as a person with a quick smile and a great sense of humor. A person so full of enthusiasm for life, he managed to find something positive even in negative situations.
He was a person who was a caring friend and a great battle-buddy, who would want his fellow Soldiers to continue to look out for each other, said Sgt. 1st Class Barbara Anderson, who spoke on behalf of Sergeant Beard’s first sergeant, 1st Sgt. Teda Cooks.
“He was the heart and soul of the platoon,” said Sgt. Scott Sandifer, speaking on behalf of Sergeant Beard’s platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class James Burke.
First Sergeant Cooks and Sergeant First Class Burke were in Buffalo representing the unit at Sergeant Beard’s funeral. Sergeant Beard’s final farewell, his last honors, is afforded to Soldiers only and dates back to the Roman Soldiers, said Lt. Col. William McCoy, 21st TSC’s deputy command chaplain.
“Beard died a Soldier and will be given a Soldier’s burial,” Lieutenant Colonel McCoy said.
Sergeant Beard is survived by his wife, Yolanda, of California and his father, Ulysses Beard, and two older brothers and two older sisters, who all live in Buffalo.
