Daniel Morris remembered by parents

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Marshall Morris and his fellow soldiers had already run over an improvised explosive device on their first tour of duty in Iraq.

The homemade bombs, frequently hidden along roadsides and detonated remotely, have killed many American soldiers.

But the 28-year-old Morris lived through that first explosion — after getting a taste of its awesome power.

“It lifted them up and rattled their ears to where they couldn’t hear for three or four days,” said Clinton resident Glenn Morris, Daniel Morris’ father.

The younger Morris, an East Tennessee native, wasn’t so lucky the second time around. He died during the weekend after his convoy, out on patrol, was hit by an improvised explosive device, or IED, about 2 p.m. Saturday, Glenn Morris said Tuesday.

Besides killing Daniel Morris, the IED also wounded three other soldiers in a Humvee, Glenn Morris said. Two were still hospitalized on Monday, and one who had minor injuries was back on duty.

Glenn Morris said he hoped his son, who apparently died of an abdominal wound, did not suffer.

“If it does happen, you want it to be as painless as possible,” said the older Morris, who works as an electrician at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

When military representatives showed up at his door at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Glenn Morris said he first thought they came to tell him Daniel was wounded.

“You go immediately into denial,” Glenn Morris said.

Daniel Morris, a seven-year Army veteran, was two months into his second tour of duty and had performed more than 300 combat missions, Glenn Morris said.

The younger Morris, who was born in Oak Ridge and grew up in Clinton, had re-enlisted in the U.S. Army, hoping to save up money so he could study at a Bible college in Washington state, the older Morris said.

“He wasn’t really apprehensive about it,” Glenn Morris said. “He thought it was his job.”

Besides his father, Daniel Morris is survived by his 10-year-old daughter Alexys Morris, of Pigeon Forge; his mother Amy Morris; sister Cassidy; and brother Adam.

In Iraq, Daniel Morris was stationed at Forward Operating Base Warhorse near Baqouba, Iraq, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. In the U.S., meanwhile, he had been stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

Baqouba is the capital of Diyala province, which stretches from Baghdad to the Iranian border. Though members of the Knoxville-based 278th Regimental Combat Team once described the province as relatively peaceful, the violence and sectarian strife that have plagued other regions seem to have descended upon Diyala as well.

Glenn Morris said Texas was a good place for Daniel Morris to be stationed while in the United States.

“It was the only place,” the older Morris said, “that was big enough to hold his heart.”

Glenn Morris said the body of his son, a 1996 Clinton High School graduate, is scheduled to be flown into McGhee Tyson Airport on Friday, before being escorted to Holley Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton.

A receiving-of-friends is tentatively scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with a military funeral planned for 2 p.m. Sunday at Oak Ridge Memorial Park on Bethel Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

From the Oak Ridger

Related Link:
Daniel M. Morris killed by I.E.D.