Their Story
Remembering Daniel Leonard.
CPL Daniel Ray Leonard was born March 14, 1980, in Alamogordo, New Mexico. He entered the U.S. Army in July 2008 at 28 - in part to provide for his growing family - and trained as a combat medic, the soldier whose job is to keep everyone else alive. In April 2009 he joined the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, the unit he served with for the rest of his career.
Over six years, Daniel deployed three times - to Iraq from April to December 2009, again to Iraq from June to November 2011, and to Afghanistan from July 2013 to January 2014 - treating and caring for his fellow soldiers each time. His service earned him two Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medals, two Army Good Conduct Medals, campaign medals for both Iraq and Afghanistan, and a long list of additional honors.
Those who knew him remember a man defined by humor, kindness, and heart - someone who, in the words of people who loved him, "was a lover, not a fighter" and "would give anyone the shirt off his back." He was devoted above all to his wife, Jamie, and their four children.
CPL Leonard passed away on November 21, 2014, at Fort Hood, Texas, at the age of thirty-four. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso, Texas.