SteelMaster’s “Stories of Service” series continues to highlight members of our team who have either served in the U.S. military or are a part of a military family. Part 5 of SteelMaster’s 11-part series of American stories features Daniel Howard, project specialist…

By his sophomore year of high school, Daniel Howard had lived in more states than most people do in a life time. His family set up roost in New Hampshire, Maine, Florida, California, New York, and Pennsylvania before settling down in Virginia Beach, VA, where 28-year-old Daniel still lives. “I was actually pretty fortunate,” says Daniel, a project specialist who has been with SteelMaster Buildings for six years. “My two older sisters moved more than I did.”

For Navy families like the Howard’s, moving tends to come with the territory, as does sacrifice. Daniel’s father Robert retired as a Naval Captain in June 2009 after 40 years of service and was deployed four times throughout his career. While Daniel says the military life was sometimes challenging for his family, it also came with some memorable perks. “When I was 10 years old, I joined my father on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower [a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier] for a Tiger Cruise,” says Daniel, referring to the naval tradition of inviting the sailor’s family and friends along for a few days to experience life at sea. “I got to fly to Bermuda, take a helicopter to the ship, and then ride home at sea for three days with my father, whom I hadn’t seen in six months. It was an incredible experience and probably my best childhood memory.”

A piece of advice that will never leave his memory is one that his father impressed upon him and his sisters since they were young. “My dad always says that if you tell the truth always you never have to remember anything, and that is something that has stuck with me,” says Daniel. “He and my mother value honesty, fairness, and integrity, and they instilled the importance of those traits in us our whole lives. In fact, most of our family has served in the military, and allegiance to those values is a thread that binds us all together.”

The family suffered an unimaginable loss when on September 11, 2001, Daniel’s Uncle George died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Although it was his day off from his job with the JFK Airport Emergency Service Unit, Officer George Howard rushed to the scene with a rescue vehicle to help in any way he could when he heard a plane had crashed into tower one—a selfless move that Daniel says was indicative of his character. “In 1993 when the World Trade Center was bombed, he ended up single-handedly saving 12 children who were stuck in an elevator by climbing down the shaft and lifting them all out,” says Daniel. “He was awarded the Medal of Valor for that, and then on September 11, 2001 he was on his way to play golf, but turned the car around when he heard something had happened again at the World Trade Center. We learned at his wake that he died instantly when a piece of sheetrock struck his head after he threw his body over a NYC police officer to try and protect him from the debris. That officer survived because of my uncle.”

Daniel fondly remembers spending time with his uncle at family get-togethers and says he always looked up to him as well as his other relatives who had dedicated their lives to serving their community and country either in law enforcement or the military. “My Uncle Patrick is a retired NYC police officer, Uncle Timothy and Aunt Geri-Anne both served in the Air Force, and my grandmother and grandfather are retired Navy,” says Daniel. “Growing up in my family meant appreciating and respecting each other, our neighbors, and our country. Although I chose a different career path than most of my family, the core beliefs and values that they instilled in me guide me both personally and professionally. My uncle’s death shook our family to its core, but it never shook our faith in what we believe in.”

Part 4: Emma Granada, international business development manager

Part 6: Al Hanks, customer management coordinator

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