Memorial service honors, remembers fallen EOD tech

  • Published
  • By Samuel King Jr.
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Tech. Sgt. Daniel Douville, an explosive ordnance disposal Airman, was remembered and celebrated by friends, family, coworkers and community leaders in a memorial service at the West Gate Chapel July 14.

"As a fellow Airman and commander, I consider it a true honor to have served in our great Air Force with Tech. Sgt. Daniel "P-Nut" Douville," said Col. Anthony Higdon, commander of the 96th Civil Engineer Group. "From my perspective, there is only one way to assess his measure, and that is...as a hero."

The ceremony featured personal reflections from Douville's widow and Airmen who served with him. LaShana encouraged the congregation saying this was not a time for sadness, that her husband wouldn't have it.

Douville died June 26 as a result of injuries suffered from an improvised explosive device on the border of the Nad 'Ali district of Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Valor and the Air Force Combat Action Medal. It was his third deployment.

"He had a larger than life personality that, as his wife put it this past weekend, destined him for fame," said Capt. Jonathan Herman, 96th EOD flight commander. "(Sergeant Douville) achieved that fame within the EOD community as a top notch team leader."

The captain shared a poignant story of his first mission and demo shot in EOD upgrade training. Douville was his team leader.

"I'm not sure who was more excited, me or P-Nut, but I was also a little nervous of how things were done outside the world of the school house," said the captain, his eyes welling up with tears. "It took nothing more than that infectious smile of his and his saying 'you got this captain, let's get to work,' to calm my nerves and get down to business."

Then the captain read his bronze star citation aloud. At the end of the reading, Higdon pinned the medal onto Douville's 9-year-old son, Daniel Jr's, shirt. Herman's final statement about his friend and fellow Airman reverberated throughout the room and seemed to capture the feeling and mood of the entire chapel.

"Don't be sad we lost our brother," he said. "Instead, stand a little taller, stick your chest out a little further and be proud your life was touched by a superhero. (Fallen EOD tech) Tech. Sgt. Phil Myers once said, 'EOD Techs don't die, they only go to heaven to regroup.' So when God called on a superhero EOD team leader, he picked the best one down here. God's chosen few....we remember."

The ceremony concluded with a roll call by the 96th EOD flight. Each Airman answered to his name until there was silence when Douville's name was called. After the ceremony, every EOD tech in attendance knelt and placed his badge at the foot of the memorial display.