DOB/DOD: July 25, 1974 (Watertown, CT) – March 12, 2011; 26 years old
OTHER NAME: Also known as Michael Schneider.
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Mi Kyong Park (1963-).
CHILDREN: Two daughters, Sadie (-) and Niya J. Kyong-Park (2000-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: Brierwood Drive; Watertown
ENLISTMENT: February 1998
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 18E40; Special Forces Communications Sergeant
UNIT: Company C, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
FAMILY: Adopted by Joseph R. Schneider Jr. (1946-) and Bonnie Schneider (1955-). One twin brother, Sae Jin [also known as Jeremy Schneider] (1974-2018). One sister, Katie (1977-). Sae Jin Park, also an Airborne Ranger and Special Forces, died after a brief illness shortly after returning from a deployment in Iraq with Special Forces.
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with three devices, one of which is a V for valor, Army Achievement Medal with device, Army Good Conduct Medal with 4 devices, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with 3 devices, Global War on Terrorism Medal (Expeditionary), Global War on Terrorism Medal (Service), Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon with 3 devices, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon with 2 devices, Combat Infantry Badge, Parachutist Badge (Basic), Air Assault Badge, Rifle Expert Badge, and Special Forces Badge.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Sergeant First Class Park was killed when his vehicle was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during a patrol near Dahane Say, Afghanistan.
OTHER: From Joe Schneider [used with permission]: “DaeHan and SaeJin were adopted when they were 16 months old. They acclimated quickly; they were in separate foster homes in Korea but were close when they arrived. They were always competitive and always protective of each other. While both had 3 years of college under their belts, I had suggested that a hitch in the Army could be a good thing in terms of getting a broader view of the world outside Connecticut and a $20,000 sign-up bonus. They both signed up for a 4-year hitch, and to my surprise, both decided they liked it. After tours in Iraq and Korea, the next step was Airborne, followed up with Ranger qualification, and finally Special Forces. Neither could be outdone. On Mike’s [DaeHan’s] last tour, where he got hit, he told me he planned to go for officer or warrant officer on returning. At that time, his brother was on a qualification course to join JSOC [Joint Special Operation Command], where he served for the next 7 years. Their sister was also adopted from Korea when she was 23 months old, and the boys were 3 at the time. Mike was a good student and was on the school tennis team. Prior to the Army, Mike was slight in build, and he told me at his Ranger graduation that he was always bothered that he wasn’t bigger. At this point, he looked more like the Rock than the high school tennis player. We were close, and I do miss both him and his brother. Their mother passed away when they were 20. Bonnie, who I married in 2004, got very close to Mike and spoke to him often and talked to him the night before he died. His cousin, who was in the Army stationed in Washington, D.C., was part of DaeHan’s dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base along with his brother and two of his team members.”
Watertown High School Class of 1992
USASOC (Army Special Operations Command) News Service March 14, 2011
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina – Sergeant First Class DaeHan Park, 36, of Lacey, Washington, died after his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device on March 12, 2011, in the vicinity of Kajran, Daykundi, Afghanistan. Park was assigned to Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan. This was Park’s fourth deployment in support of overseas contingency operations. Park, a graduate of Watertown High School in Watertown, Connecticut, enlisted in the U. S. Army in February 1998 as an Infantryman. Upon completion of basic training and advanced individual training, Park was assigned to Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In 2000, he earned the coveted Ranger Tab and participated in the Best Ranger Competition in 2002. In March 2003, he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Rifle Squad Leader. Upon his return from Iraq, Park was assigned as an observer/controller at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. In 2005, Park volunteered for the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2006. Park was then assigned to 3rd Bn, 1st SFG (A) Joint Base Lewis-McChord as a Special Forces communications sergeant with Operational Detachment Alpha 1333. During his time with the 3rd Battalion, he completed numerous worldwide missions to include Bangladesh, Operation Iraqi Freedom VI, Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines, Cambodia, and India. This was his first rotation to Afghanistan. Park’s military education includes the U.S. Army Airborne School, Warrior Leader Course, Basic Non-Commissioned Officers Course, Advanced Leader Course, Ranger School, Air Assault School, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course, Jumpmaster Course, Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, and Special Forces Qualification Course. Park’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (1 OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (1 OLC), the Army Good Conduct Medal (4th award), the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal (Expeditionary), Global War on Terrorism Medal (Service), Overseas Service Ribbon (2nd award) Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (3rd award), Army Service Ribbon, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Parachutist’s Badge, and the Air Assault Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. He is survived by his wife, Mi Kyong Park; his daughters, Niya and Sadie; his parents, Joseph and Bonnie Schneider of Thomaston, Connecticut; and his sister and brother, Katie and Saejin of Watertown, Connecticut.
From The Olympian (Olympia, WA) on March 15, 2011
By Matt Misterek | Staff Writer
BOMB IN AFGHANISTAN KILLS LACEY GREEN BERET
Roadside bombs in Afghanistan have claimed a third local soldier in a period of two weeks after several months of relative calm. A Green Beret who was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and who made his home in Lacey was killed Saturday in central Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Monday. Sergeant First Class DaeHan Park, 36, died when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive in Daykundi Province, according to Army Special Operations Command. Park was assigned to Charlie Company of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group. He was reportedly riding on a combat reconnaissance patrol in which two other soldiers were wounded. He was married, had two young daughters, and was a devoted family man, said Major Matt Gregory, a spokesman for 1st Group, who said he’d known Park since 2000. “He was a consummate professional,” Gregory said Monday evening. “Everything he did was to improve himself so he could improve others.” Park was on his first rotation to Afghanistan and had been in the country for about a month. His list of other military missions to the Asian continent was far-flung: Iraq, Bangladesh, Philippines, Cambodia, and India. After graduating from high school in Watertown, Connecticut, Park enlisted as an infantryman in 1998, according to Army records. He went on to earn his Ranger credentials in 2000, qualifying for the elite tab on his left shoulder while holding a junior rank. “Getting a slot with the 101st Airborne is a hard thing to do, and he was a specialist at the time he did it,” Gregory said. “He also did the Best Ranger Competition (in 2002), which put him up against some of the top soldiers in the world.” Park served in Iraq as a rifle squad leader in 2003, according to Army records. His completion of Special Forces training in 2006 led directly to an assignment with the 1st Group at the Army base south of Tacoma, specializing in communications. As a Green Beret, he joined a subculture set apart – soldiers who go on unpublicized deployments, train in languages, navigate foreign societies, and work alongside indigenous forces. He is the 14th reported member of the 1st Group to die in action since September 11, 2001. Park is also the third Lewis-McChord soldier killed by enemy explosives in the last two weeks. Specialist Jason Weaver and Specialist David Fahey, both with the 170th Military Police Company, were attacked in southern Afghanistan: Weaver on March 3 and Fahey on February 23. Full-honor memorial ceremonies for both MPs are pending at Lewis-McChord. Local remembrances for Park will be done on a smaller scale. As is their custom, Green Berets gather privately at their memorial wall outside 1st Group headquarters on Memorial Day and Veterans Day to dedicate the names of any recently fallen comrades. Park is survived by his wife, Mi Kyong Park; daughters Niya and Sadie; parents, Joseph and Bonnie Schneider of Connecticut; and a sister and brother, also of Connecticut.
Memorialized with a bench in Veterans Memorial Park, 570 Nova Scotia Hill Road, Watertown, Connecticut. Photo contributed by Michael Ganem, Director of Parks and Recreation, Town of Watertown.
Sergeant First Class Park is buried in Tahoma National Cemetery, 18600 SE 240th Street, Kent Washington; Section 25, Site 208.
