Andrew P. Daul
Specialist, United States Army
August 23, 1985 – December 19, 2006
Age – 21
Brighton, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Frieberg, Germany
Killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M-1 Abrams tank during combat operations near Hit, Iraq.
U.S. Army Specialist Andrew Patrick Daul was manning a checkpoint in Iraq when he witnessed a huge explosion that ignited a nearby vehicle with civilians inside. Daul leapt from the safety of his tank and pulled the two civilians from the burning car. One died; he breathed life back into and saved the other civilian. Amid all the death in the war, there was a little life because Andrew was that kind of soldier.
It was Daul’s second tour in Iraq, and while he worried like everyone else about the hazards of war, he reassured his family. Andrew became interested in serving in the military during his senior year at Brighton High. He had served three and a half years, earning various awards and commendations.
He was looking forward to finishing that chapter of his life in July and coming back home to Brighton. He planned to work for his father’s environmental consulting firm for a little while and then pursue a career in fitness or nutrition.
Daul was an avid and competitive bodybuilder, an interest that had its roots in school but blossomed in the military. His love of weightlifting had blossomed early as he was remembered walking through his high school pumping milk jugs full of water.