FORT RUCKER, Ala. (June 4, 2015) -- After a tragic incident, more than 20 years ago, took the lives of five people and left three battered and broken, one survivor was honored with an opportunity he was not afforded at the end of his aviation career - a final flight.
Daniel Stamaris Jr. is known to many on Fort Rucker as a quality assurance specialist with the Aviation Center Logistics Command, but what many might not know is that he was a former Black Hawk crew chief, who was part of a team, which was shot down during the Persian Gulf War, who were then taken as prisoners of war.
Stamaris and his crew, along with four passengers - three pathfinders and one flight surgeon - were on a search-and-rescue mission over Iraq, Feb. 27, 1991, to find a downed F-16 fighter pilot, who had been shot down, he said. During the mission, Stamaris' Black Hawk helicopter came under fire and was shot down, killing the entire flight crew and two of the passengers.
"Out of the eight people, who were on board, only three of us survived," said Stamaris, who was severely injured, suffering broken bones in his left leg, a shattered femur, broken pelvis and broken ribs.
As fate would have it, Stamaris' helicopter was shot down on the last full day of the war, but Stamaris and those, he was taken prisoner with, had no idea.
"We didn't know it at the time, so the war was still going on for us," he said. "During something like that, you pretty much live moment to moment because you're being threatened with bodily harm and death."
Despite his injuries, Stamaris said he was routinely moved around by the Iraqi soldiers to different areas on the backs of trucks and carried in tarps with no regard to his health. For eight days he was made to suffer with his injuries before being released as a result of the end of the war.
"When I got back to the states, the medical personnel made a comment to me that they couldn't believe I survived - not just the crash, but the time I was being held because of the way they handled me," he said. "They told me that I had bone fragments between 1-2 millimeters [from] my main femoral artery."
Since the day his crew was shot down, Stamaris had not flown in a Black Hawk helicopter and never took part in a final flight, which many see as a rite of passage for aviators ending their careers, so Capt. Steve Sanford, F Company, 1st Battalion, 212th Aviation Regiment company commander, wanted to change that.
Sanford met Stamaris on Howze field during a ceremony on Veterans Day last year, where there was a static display of a Black Hawk helicopter.
"We got to talking and he started to tell me that the last time that he'd sat in that seat was when he and his crew were shot down over Iraq in the Gulf War," Sanford said. "That got my attention and he started telling me the story. I was really intrigued and couldn't believe he hadn't sat in that seat since that day.
"I got to thinking it would be really cool if I got to get him a flight to finish his aviation career," he said. "I tossed the idea around and I stayed in touch with him, and finally asked if he would be interested. He said he would love to do it, so we got the ball rolling."
After getting the required final approvals, Stamaris was ready to take flight. He got the ride of his life for two hours over the skies of Fort Rucker, May 22, which he said was an experience he will never forget and will forever be appreciative of.
"For me, the ride was awesome - I loved it," Stamaris said. "I knew I missed it, but I didn't know how much until I got up there and flew in one.
"Capt. Sanford went out of his way to do this flight for me," he said. "It wasn't something he had to do, but he just felt like it was a good thing to do and I'm glad that he did. It just makes you feel good that there are people out there who still care and want to give you that recognition."
Sanford said his reason for wanting to do this for Stamaris comes down to honoring those, who came before and made sacrifices for the nation.
"Sometimes people in our Army are so used to deployments that we run the risk of not remembering that a lot of people have done it before us," he said. "It's important to remember the history and thank the people who have gone through hard times. It was great that we were able to give him this opportunity. As an Army, I'm glad that we were able to take care of him and allow him to finish his aviation career with a proper final flight."
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