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Contact Info
Home Town Plymouth
Last Address Fayetteville, GA
Date of Passing Dec 24, 2000
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
The Fort Myer Military Community bade a final farewell to one of its own Tuesday with a hero's salute in Arlington National Cemetery. Infantry soldier Colonel Daniel M. Shamanski, 60, FMMC commander from 1987 to 1991, died December 24, 2000, at his home in Fayetteville, Georgia.
A 35-year Army veteran, he held the elite Soldier's Medal. He was a highly decorated veteran who began his career as an enlisted soldier. Shamanski suffered from wounds he sustained in the jungles of Vietnam over a quarter of a century ago.
A native of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, Shamanski was one of those rare breed of officers called "Mustangs," that is, enlisted personnel who later become commissioned officers. In addition Shamanski was a graduate of the Jungle Warfare School, the Armed Forces Staff College, Personnel Management for Executives and the Army War College. He received his bachelor's degree from Columbus College in Columbus, Georgia.
Shamanski had various military assignments in the United States and Europe and served three tours of duty in the Republic of Vietnam, all with the 1st Infantry Division. There he saw action as a platoon leader and then Company A commander with the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, Company A commander with the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry and later as the 1st ID assistant operations officer.
Prior to his final Army assignment as FMMC garrison commander, Shamanski was the Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of Staff to the post commander of the U.S. Army Signal Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
For his courage in combat in the Republic of Vietnam, Shamanski was awarded seven Bronze Stars with "V" for valor, two Purple Hearts, four Air Medals and seven campaign stars on his Vietnam service ribbon.
He also held the elite Soldier's Medal (heroism at the risk of your own life while saving another's life). As a captain and company commander in Vietnam, Shamanski was sited for his heroism (not involving the enemy,) in March 1969, when he personally fought and extinguished a fire that raged near an ammunition storage site. "Ignoring the possibility of danger to himself," reads the Soldier's Medal citation, Shamanski saved equipment and civilian lives.
Shamanski received three Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbons with numeral "two," the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation.
He was also awarded the Parachutist Badge and the Combat Infantry Badge. He was entered into the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame, Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1994.
Shamanski was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Survivors include his wife, Dorothy, of Fayetteville, three children, Daniel Shamanski, Jr., of Mableton, Ga., Jennifer Vogel, of Birmingham, Ala., and Dana Shamanski, of Nashville, Tenn., his mother, Alvina Shamanski, Voorhees, N.J., and a sister, Joan Derascavage, Cherry Hill, N.J.
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase IV Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
April / 1968
To Month/Year
June / 1968
Description This campaign was from 2 April to 30 June 1968. During this period friendly forces conducted a number of battalion-size attritional operations against the enemy.
Operations PEGASUS-Lam Son 207 relieved the Khe Sanh Combat Base on 5 April and thereby opened Route 9 for the first time since August 1967. This operation not only severely restricted the North Vietnamese Army's use of western Quang Tri Province but also inflicted casualties on the remnants of two North Vietnamese divisions withdrawing from the area. This success was followed by a singular allied spoiling operation in the A Shau Valley, Operation DELAWARE-Lam Son. These two operations prevented the enemy from further attacking I Corps Tactical Zone population centers and forced him to shift his pressure to the III Corps Tactical Zone.
During the period 5-12 May 1968 the Viet Cong launched an offensive with Saigon as the primary objective. Friendly forces defended the city with great determination. Consequently Saigon was never in danger of being overrun. Small Viet Cong units that did manage to get into the outskirts were fragmented and driven out with great loss of enemy life. By the end of June 1968 friendly forces had decisively blunted the enemy's attacks, inflicted very heavy casualties, and hindered his ability to attack urban areas throughout the Republic of Vietnam. The enemy was forced to withdraw to his sanctuaries.
The strength of the U.S. Army in Vietnam reach a peak of nearly 360,000 men during this period.