In a moving coincidence, two military jets flew over the heads of more than 100 people at Fort Logan National Cemetery, just as the sound of taps started to float through the air.
It was the burial ceremony for Danny Phillip Dietz Sr., a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a passionate servant to at-risk youth.
Dietz, who lived in Littleton, passed away on May 11 at the age of 75. He was laid to rest next to his son, Danny Phillip Dietz Jr., a Navy SEAL who was awarded the Navy’s second-highest decoration, the Navy Cross, and the Purple Heart after his combat death in Afghanistan in 2005.
“Senior was my hero,” said Henry Jones Jr., a retired Denver police officer who counted Dietz as a friend. “He would do anything for you … He’d give you the shirt off his back.”
Dietz was born in Nebraska and raised his family in the Littleton/Englewood area. He served in the Navy from Dec. 1, 1967 to Nov. 30, 1971 and was stationed at Camp Lejeune, said his daughter, Tiffany Bitz.
After the death of his son, Dietz and Bitz started the Danny Dietz Jr. Foundation to “enrich the lives of youth and young adults through strenuous mental and physical activities,” according to the foundation’s website.
“My brother … he might have been considered an at-risk youth in his young days,” Bitz said. “While he was a good kid and had a good heart, he oftentimes found himself going down the wrong path at times.”
Bitz said many people told her brother he would never amount to anything. All it took was someone to believe in him, she said, and he ended up serving the country and becoming a national hero.
“After we lost my brother, we wanted to start a foundation to find kids who were like my brother, that maybe they just needed a little direction or guidance, or even just a loving hand,” Bitz said. “They had good in them, and they just needed somebody to tell them that and help them find their purpose.”
Bitz said her father was very passionate about the foundation and its work with youth.
Dietz’s friend, Jones, said he was inspired by how his friend taught the kids to serve their country, whether through military or community service.
“What he teaches you is, there’s more to life than yourself,” Jones said.
Bitz said her father was a strong patriot. Even when things got tough and challenging, she said, he wanted to remind people of the greatness of living in the United States.
“He loved this country,” she said. “He loves what we stand for, and he wanted to ensure that others understood how beautiful we have it.”
Even beyond serving youth, Dietz lived his life to build connections with others, Bitz said.
“Veterans who might have been suffering with (post-traumatic stress disorder), he would spend countless hours … just trying to help them see the good in themselves, and why they matter, and why they’re important and that they have a purpose,” she said.
As highlighted by the mass of people who attended his committal ceremony at Fort Logan on May 29, Dietz had a superpower in building relationships.
“He found purpose in making connections, and through those connections, helping people,” she said. “I really feel like that was my dad’s true purpose, was just to make connections and help people see the good in themselves and the value that they bring.”