Daniel Chaires remembered by family

CHAIRES - Harry Chaires and his wife, Nan Cuchens, have barely slept, or even drawn a deep breath, since last Wednesday when four Marines showed up to tell them their son had been killed in Iraq.

But they're not complaining about life's unfairness. Since he was 10 years old, Daniel Chaires wanted to be in the military. Since he enlisted a year ago, he had worked to be a good Marine.

"He was typically a very focused young man who made good decisions," his mother said. "So when he made his decision to join the Marine Corps, he asked us to support and honor his decision - and that's what we are doing now."

A rifleman with the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment, Lance Cpl. Daniel Burroughs Chaires, 20, was killed in Al Anbar, scene of some of the most deadly combat. He died Oct. 25 when a bullet from an insurgent ricocheted off the ground and struck him in the abdomen under his protective vest.

Chaires - for whom flags have been lowered to half-mast statewide - was the sixth area resident to die in Afghanistan and Iraq. His death has reverberated in the community because of his family, which is well-known and descended from one of the oldest families in Leon County.

"My son was doing what he could to uphold our freedom," Harry Chaires said. "I'm proud of what my son stood for, and I'm proud he gave his life for his country."

Harry Chaires, 67, was a popular captain in the Leon County Sheriff's Office before his 2005 retirement; Cuchens, 58, is a former Tallahassee Memorial Hospital emergency-room director who now teaches at Florida State University's College of Nursing. Daniel had two 36-year-old twin half-brothers, Todd Chaires, a sheriff's detective, and Scott Chaires, who works for the county's public-works department; and a sister, Hannah, 16, a junior at Leon High.

Three Chaires brothers, Benjamin, Green Hill and Thomas Peter, settled eastern Leon County in the late 1820s. The community of Chaires, 12 miles east of Tallahassee, sits on the former plantation of Green Hill Chaires. Daniel grew up in the 90-year-old home of his grandparents, where his parents live.

Although Daniel Chaires' body has been flown back to the U.S., it is unclear when it will be transported to Leon County for burial. The family plans a military funeral - with a family emphasis. Daniel will lie in state in his home. A funeral service will be held at the Chaires United Methodist Church, about a quarter mile east of the home.

His flag-draped coffin will then be borne on a horsedrawn wagon to the home and buried about 50 yards from the back door. A bleary-eyed Harry Chaires spent Friday and Saturday preparing the grave.

"I sent him off to do the task he felt he needed to do. He's done that and he's served his country," Harry Chaires said. "Now, I'm going to put him in my backyard to watch over him and have him with me as long as I'm alive.

"I don't have to send him off again."

Followed in father's steps
Chaires' death came only six weeks into his first tour in Iraq - and five days after his last call home. In that 10-minute call by satellite phone, he spoke with his sister and mother before concluding the call with his father.

"Daniel said, 'I just want to tell you that I love you and Mom very much, and I don't want you to ever forget it,' ” Harry Chaires said.

Daniel Chaires enlisted in the Marines in September 2005, in no small part because his father was a Marine. Harry Chaires dropped out of Leon High in 11th grade to enlist and spent eight years on active and reserve duty from 1957 to 1965.

Daniel Chaires was homeschooled and earned a GED, then attended Tallahassee Community College to earn the 15 college credits needed to enlist. He had to take the military physical four times because his excitement the first three times led to a rapid heartbeat.

"Daniel wanted to follow in my footsteps," Harry Chaires said. "You never saw anybody work harder to be in the Marine Corps."

A Marine, but also a 'lamb'
Daniel Chaires joining the marines was not the most obvious choice to some. He was a strapping outdoorsman (6-foot-3, 190 pounds), who liked to ride horses, fish, hunt and work on the family's eight-acre property. But he was also known for a genuine "yes sir/no sir" politeness, an eagerness to help friends and neighbors and a gentle disposition.

Many attributed his maturity to his relationship with his late grandfather, Eben Burroughs Chaires, from whom he received his middle name and served as constant companion. His father conceded his son's personality was closest to the "sweetness and kindness" of his mother.

"He was a lamb, just a lamb. He was beautiful inside and out," said neighbor Isabelle Blakey. "Man, he didn't have any business in the Marines. It's awful when you lose a child like that."

Although grief-stricken, his parents refuse to second-guess their son's choice. They said before he enlisted, Daniel "examined everything" about all branches of service. He chose the Marines for its rigorous training and combat opportunities and convinced even his mother the Marines' comradeship was special.

"The Marines truly are a band of brothers; they love one another and protect one another," Cuchens said. "I knew his chances of survival would be greater in the Marines."

His father agreed.

"We supported Daniel's decision because as he moved through the paces of being in the Marine Corps, we realized he was making himself a terrific Marine," he said. "All Nan and I could do at that point was start praying."

From the Tallahassee Democrat

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Daniel B. Chaires killed in combat