Dan Dietz
The city of littleton Colorado needs to stay firm and stand tall. The heroism of fallen Navy Seal Dan Dietz is a story that should encourage and give hope to all. The patriotism and love of country from todays men and women in uniform are tearful and full of love and pride. As they are all VOLUNTEERS serving this country, it is a small thing to honor them for the gift they have given this country.However a few loud and obnoxious people do not see it this way.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5470519,00.html
Memorial set in stone
Parents of slain SEAL surprised by all the flak
By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News
April 7, 2007
Dan Dietz sees irony in the death of his Navy SEAL son and those opposed to erecting a statute in his honor July 4 in a Littleton park.
"This was Danny's third tour over there. The first time he was over there, he lost a friend and when he came back, he was mad. And he said, 'Boy, Dad, I'd better not run across any of those anti-Americans. You know they're not doing us any good,' " Dan Dietz said Friday.
"And I said, 'Wait a minute, Danny. During Vietnam I fought for those rights and now you're fighting for those rights.'
"I said, 'That's a part of the United States. We have to be thankful we can do that because the other countries, if you did something like that - protested or anything like that - you'd be in jail or be shot.' "
The statue of 25-year-old Danny Dietz shows him crouching while holding an assault rifle.
Opponents of the statue have said, in light of the 1999 Columbine High School tragedy, kids shouldn't be walking past something that depicts violence.
(COLUMBINE IS OVER AND IN THE PAST. A TRADGEDY THAT PEOPLE HERE IN DENVER WANT TO KEEP RELIVING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THE STUDENTS AT COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL NOW BARELY REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED, YET ARE CONSTANTLY REMINDED OF THE TRADJIC EVENT. THEY, THE STUDENTS ARE BEING BOMBARDED WITH VICTEMIZATION OF AN EVENT THEY WERE NOT PART OF!!!!!!!!!!)
Dan and Cindy Dietz said they were "surprised" by the opposition to the statue of their son - especially since it had been in the planning stages for months.
One of those opponents, Linda Cuesta, had a child at Columbine during that massacre and made her objections known to the Littleton City Council last month.
"This has nothing to do with Columbine," Cindy Dietz said.
Also objecting was Emily Cassidy Fuchs, who didn't want the statue at Berry Park because of its proximity to three schools.
City officials noted, however, the park is in the same neighborhood where Danny grew up and attended elementary and middle school. His parents still live there.
Kelli Narde, spokeswoman for the city of Littleton, said the dedication of the statue will go forward July 4 and that an admiral will give a keynote address.
(THIS IS A PERFECT PLACE TO HAVE A STAUTE. WITH THE FACT THAT ISLAMOFACISTS WANT TO TARGET OUR CHILDREN. A REMINDER THAT THERE ARE THOSE AMERICANS WILLING TO LAY THIER LIVES DOWN FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR CHILDREN IS FITTING. SHOWING DANNY DIETZ HOLDING HIS WEAPON IS POETIC.)
Cindy Dietz said she's made several trips to the foundry in Loveland where the mold of the statue has been worked on to make sure it correctly depicts her son.
She said she struggled with the idea of him having facial hair in the statue ("He was always angelic looking") but agreed that the photo showed him with facial hair - and that's how he should be in bronze.
Sculptor Robert Henderson created the statue from one of the last photos taken of Danny before he was killed June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan while fighting al-Qaida and Taliban forces with his team of four.
He received the Navy Cross for heroism posthumously.
His father said his son would likely view the statue the same way he viewed his other honors and awards.
"Danny wouldn't go for this at all," Dan Dietz said.
"He liked to be low-keyed in his career. He didn't like to display what he'd done and all the awards that he has gotten and stuff like that."
(ISNT THAT THE WAY OF TRUE HEROS? A MODEST STREAK A MILE WIDE AS TO WHAT THEY DO.)
But his parents view the statue as a way to honor their son and all of those who died while serving in the military.
"I feel like Danny belongs to the nation now and he's a part of that history," Dan Dietz said.
City officials said they've been taken aback by the controversy surrounding the statue, and Narde said that claims the city didn't go through the usual approval process for public art isn't correct.
Narde said the city's Fine Arts Committee - on which Fuchs sits - opted not to oversee the process because they didn't consider it art.
So it was passed to the city's staff to handle, which it did.
After the Dietz family spoke Friday afternoon in the city of Littleton's Community Room, state Sen. Steve Ward, R-Littleton, stewed outside in the hallway.
"This is pathetic," Ward said. "What's next? Take 'the bombs bursting in air' out of The Star- Spangled Banner?"
(YES WARD THATS EXACTLY WHAT THESE PEACENIKS WANT TO DO EVENTUALY. ANY AND EVERY THING THAT IS PROAMERICAN AND PATRIOTIC IS OFFENSIVE TO THEM.)
Dan and Cindy Dietz got a measure of support as they left the community room.
After the couple finished talking, a group of police officers stood and applauded as they exited the room.
(AND A HUGE SHOW OF SUPPORT AND APPRECIATION IS TO BE HAD COME THE DEDICATION OF THIS STATUE!!!!)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5470519,00.html
Memorial set in stone
Parents of slain SEAL surprised by all the flak
By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News
April 7, 2007
Dan Dietz sees irony in the death of his Navy SEAL son and those opposed to erecting a statute in his honor July 4 in a Littleton park.
"This was Danny's third tour over there. The first time he was over there, he lost a friend and when he came back, he was mad. And he said, 'Boy, Dad, I'd better not run across any of those anti-Americans. You know they're not doing us any good,' " Dan Dietz said Friday.
"And I said, 'Wait a minute, Danny. During Vietnam I fought for those rights and now you're fighting for those rights.'
"I said, 'That's a part of the United States. We have to be thankful we can do that because the other countries, if you did something like that - protested or anything like that - you'd be in jail or be shot.' "
The statue of 25-year-old Danny Dietz shows him crouching while holding an assault rifle.
Opponents of the statue have said, in light of the 1999 Columbine High School tragedy, kids shouldn't be walking past something that depicts violence.
(COLUMBINE IS OVER AND IN THE PAST. A TRADGEDY THAT PEOPLE HERE IN DENVER WANT TO KEEP RELIVING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THE STUDENTS AT COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL NOW BARELY REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED, YET ARE CONSTANTLY REMINDED OF THE TRADJIC EVENT. THEY, THE STUDENTS ARE BEING BOMBARDED WITH VICTEMIZATION OF AN EVENT THEY WERE NOT PART OF!!!!!!!!!!)
Dan and Cindy Dietz said they were "surprised" by the opposition to the statue of their son - especially since it had been in the planning stages for months.
One of those opponents, Linda Cuesta, had a child at Columbine during that massacre and made her objections known to the Littleton City Council last month.
"This has nothing to do with Columbine," Cindy Dietz said.
Also objecting was Emily Cassidy Fuchs, who didn't want the statue at Berry Park because of its proximity to three schools.
City officials noted, however, the park is in the same neighborhood where Danny grew up and attended elementary and middle school. His parents still live there.
Kelli Narde, spokeswoman for the city of Littleton, said the dedication of the statue will go forward July 4 and that an admiral will give a keynote address.
(THIS IS A PERFECT PLACE TO HAVE A STAUTE. WITH THE FACT THAT ISLAMOFACISTS WANT TO TARGET OUR CHILDREN. A REMINDER THAT THERE ARE THOSE AMERICANS WILLING TO LAY THIER LIVES DOWN FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR CHILDREN IS FITTING. SHOWING DANNY DIETZ HOLDING HIS WEAPON IS POETIC.)
Cindy Dietz said she's made several trips to the foundry in Loveland where the mold of the statue has been worked on to make sure it correctly depicts her son.
She said she struggled with the idea of him having facial hair in the statue ("He was always angelic looking") but agreed that the photo showed him with facial hair - and that's how he should be in bronze.
Sculptor Robert Henderson created the statue from one of the last photos taken of Danny before he was killed June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan while fighting al-Qaida and Taliban forces with his team of four.
He received the Navy Cross for heroism posthumously.
His father said his son would likely view the statue the same way he viewed his other honors and awards.
"Danny wouldn't go for this at all," Dan Dietz said.
"He liked to be low-keyed in his career. He didn't like to display what he'd done and all the awards that he has gotten and stuff like that."
(ISNT THAT THE WAY OF TRUE HEROS? A MODEST STREAK A MILE WIDE AS TO WHAT THEY DO.)
But his parents view the statue as a way to honor their son and all of those who died while serving in the military.
"I feel like Danny belongs to the nation now and he's a part of that history," Dan Dietz said.
City officials said they've been taken aback by the controversy surrounding the statue, and Narde said that claims the city didn't go through the usual approval process for public art isn't correct.
Narde said the city's Fine Arts Committee - on which Fuchs sits - opted not to oversee the process because they didn't consider it art.
So it was passed to the city's staff to handle, which it did.
After the Dietz family spoke Friday afternoon in the city of Littleton's Community Room, state Sen. Steve Ward, R-Littleton, stewed outside in the hallway.
"This is pathetic," Ward said. "What's next? Take 'the bombs bursting in air' out of The Star- Spangled Banner?"
(YES WARD THATS EXACTLY WHAT THESE PEACENIKS WANT TO DO EVENTUALY. ANY AND EVERY THING THAT IS PROAMERICAN AND PATRIOTIC IS OFFENSIVE TO THEM.)
Dan and Cindy Dietz got a measure of support as they left the community room.
After the couple finished talking, a group of police officers stood and applauded as they exited the room.
(AND A HUGE SHOW OF SUPPORT AND APPRECIATION IS TO BE HAD COME THE DEDICATION OF THIS STATUE!!!!)
