Hometown: Thonotosassa, FL
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Military Honors: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: January 24, 2010 - KIA in Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Age: 28
Conflict: War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021

Born in Schenectady, New York, on November 16, 1981, Daniel’s family moved to Thonotosassa, Florida—on the outskirts of Tampa—when he was two years old. He graduated from nearby Armwood High School in 2000 and took a job as a construction worker.

His family recalls that Daniel loved going to a local mud hole with a large four-wheeler or with his huge pickup truck.

His mother, Kathy Angus, told The Tampa Tribune that Daniel joined the United States Marine Corps in 2003, hoping “to accomplish something in his life.” She said he’d found his calling and intended to make a career with the Corps.

Angus served two tours in Iraq—the first from July 2004 to February 2005, the second from December 2005 to March 2006. He was promoted to sergeant on May 1, 2007.

While on a fishing trip in Roane County, Tennessee, Angus met Bonnie Hughes. The two started dating, and Daniel made the eight-and-a-half-hour drive from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on the weekends. They were married on December 8, 2009.

About six weeks later, Sgt. Daniel Angus left for Afghanistan on December 17, 2009, with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. His unit was part of the first wave surge of 30,000 military personnel, with a goal to defeat al Qaeda and the ruling Taliban. Sgt. Angus told a television reporter “It’s a jump-and-run kind of thing. You never know when you are going to go. It is not my first Christmas away from home, and it won’t be my last.”

Just a month after arriving in Afghanistan, on January 24, 2010, Sgt. Angus was on foot patrol in Helmand province. An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated, claiming the lives of Sgt. Angus, Cpl. Timothy J. Poole of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Lance Cpl. Zachary D. Smith of Hornell, New York.

The night before the attack, Sgt. Angus had called home to say goodnight to his 1-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn. In an interview with The Knoxville News-Sentinel, his wife Bonnie recalled, “She was asleep, but I did put the phone to her ear, and he told her. She didn’t wake up, but she knows. He always said, ‘Don’t let her forget who her daddy is.’ And I won’t.”

Sergeant Daniel McKinnon Angus was 28 years old. He is laid to rest with his fellow service members at Florida National Cemetery (Section 603, Site 5). On May 13, 2010, Sgt. Angus was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with a combat “V.” His citation reads:

For heroic service in connection with combat operations against the enemy while serving as a First Squad Leader, 2d Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, on 24 January 2010 in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. On that date, while leading the advance party of a platoon combat patrol in an area known to be contested by the enemy, Sergeant Angus’ squad came under a heavy volume of effective small arms and medium machine gun fire from three directions. Repeatedly exposing himself to a hail of accurate enemy fire, Sergeant Angus inspired his Marines to move across open terrain to a fighting position that could cover other elements of the platoon as they maneuvered. In the middle of the firefight, one of Sergeant Angus’ Marines was badly wounded by an enemy Improvised Explosive Device. Rushing under effective fire into the kill zone, Sergeant Angus relied on his knowledge of enemy tactics and repeatedly warned other members of his squad of the possibility of secondary explosive devices and their likely locations. Despite the extraordinary risk to his own life, he ordered his Marines out of the kill zone while he remained to provide treatment to the wounded Marine, until being fatally wounded by a second Improvised Explosive Device that detonated directly at the Casualty Collection Point. By his zealous initiative, courageous actions, and exceptional dedication to duty, Sergeant Angus reflected great credit upon him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Sources
Details and card photo (digitally enhanced) submitted by Bonnie Angus, Sgt. Angus’ Gold Star Wife
The Tampa Tribune, Jan. 27, 2010: Bomb kills local warrior
The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Jan. 29, 2010: Memory will live on for daughter
U.S. Congressional Record—House 5112: Remembering Sergeant Daniel McKinnon Angus|
Military Times—Honor the Fallen: Marine Sgt. Daniel M. Angus
Together We Served: Angus, Daniel McKinnon, Sgt
The Tampa Tribune, Feb. 5, 2010: Angus, Sgt. Daniel M.
Burial Site: Find a Grave

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