Daniel E. Holman served our country in the US Army and Joint Forces after answering the call in 1972. He was an inspiration to his fellow men and served his country with pride. He was hit by enemy fire during active duty in 1988 and suffered through over a dozen surgeries initially and several more even after his retirement in 1992. Due to complications caused by the surgeries Holman eventually lost both of his legs.
Holeman was honored at Mesquite’s Firth Annual ‘One Hero at a Time’ benefit which was held on April 22 in the CasaBlanca Showroom. The event is co-sponsored by Mesquite Gaming and Veteran’s Talk.
Holeman met and married his wife Donna in 1978 after knowing each other for only two weeks. The couple weathered the hardships of deployment together he as an enlisted man and her the military wife. Donna gave birth to their two children Casandra and Jason while the couple lived in Landstuhl, Germany. They’ve been happily living life together ever since.
The couple are truly shocked and a bit set back by the honor. They feel that the honor and the money should go to someone who needs it.
Donna told the MLN that “Daniel wanted to turn down the money and the honor, he felt that someone else deserved or needed it more but Rick Hillis said, “Daniel, you’re a wounded veteran, we all need it buddy.” She went on to tell about Daniel’s work, “He’s an inspiration to others. He’s always doing something around the house or in his shop, Daniel is a metal artist. He climbs ladders with his prosthetic legs and the neighbors just cringe. They think he’s crazy for being up there but nothing stops him. They see it and come help pitch in, we’re very blessed to live in a wonderful community with great neighbors. One of the neighbor children that Daniel is always helping with one project or another said to his dad, “If I ever tell you I can’t do something, please kick me right in the butt. If this man with no legs can do everything he does, I don’t ever want to say, I can’t.”
The official numbers aren’t in yet but the generous donations provided by the many who attended should amount to quite a bit to help he and his family and to honor this year’s hero.
