This Deceased Army Profile is not currently maintained by any Member.
If you would like to take responsibility for researching and maintaining this Deceased profile please click
HERE
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/Tet 69 Counteroffensive Campaign
From Month/Year
February / 1969
To Month/Year
June / 1969
Description This campaign was from 23 February to 8 June 1969. From Tet 1969 through the month of June, the enemy again tried to sustain an offensive. His inability to do so can be largely attributed to aggressive allied ground operations. Between 23 February and 8 June 1969, a total of 70 significant named ground operations were terminated resulting in heavy enemy loss of life and materiel. The main operations concluded during this period were:
(1). The 3d Marine Division's Operation KENTUCKY aimed at preventing enemy infiltration through the Demilitarized Zone in central Quang Tri Province. Throughout the early part of January 1969, Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army forces continued to avoid major contacts with Free World Forces. Their continual movement to avoid friendly forces or to search for food and supplies contributed to a decrease in the enemy-initiated ground attacks and attacks-by-fire in Quang Tri Province.
(2). Operation NEVADA EAGLE, initiated on 17 May 1968 in Thua Thien Province, continued in 1969 as the U.S. 101st Airborne Division continued to defeat enemy personnel, and capture rice caches, material, and installations within its large area of operations, where it undertook offensive sweeps along Route 547 and around Song Bo.
(3). Two battalions of the 4th Marine Regiment were engaged in Operation SCOTLAND II. Initiated on 15 April 1968, this multi-battalion search and clear operation was centered in and around Khe Sanh.
(4). The IV Corps Tactical Zone Dry Weather Campaign began on 1 December 1968 in support of the overall mission to prevent Viet Cong units from interfering with pacification efforts. This operation, "Speedy Express," interdicted lines of enemy communication and denied him the use of base areas. In 1969 the 1st Brigade, 9th U.S. Infantry Division continued the operation in Dinh Tuong Province, using its highly successful night ambush tactics while the 2d Brigade continued its mission with the Mobile Riverine Force. Although engagements in Operation SPEEDY EXPRESS were typically small, the 9th Infantry Division fought several sizeable engagements with impressive results.
On 23 February U.S. Navy units and installations at Da Nang, Tan An, Ben Luc, Go Dan Ha, and Tra Cu came under numerous and widespread attacks associated with a new enemy offensive, but since many units in these areas were poised to meet these attacks they caused only minimal damage. April saw the heaviest cumulative enemy activity in the barrier interdiction camapign to date.