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Daniel J. Tobin

Daniel J. Tobin

No. 1980429 Oct 1930 – 20 Sep 2003

Died: Springfeld, VA 
Buried: Interred in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA


The M-2 Flankers produced some remarkable leaders, and among them was DANIEL JAMES TOBIN. When the horse-drawn caisson bearing his body wound its way through the rain at Arlington Cemetery, 200 of his family, classmates, and M-2 “irregulars” gathered to bid farewell. After the ceremony, Dan’s wife Judy hosted an old-fashioned Irish wake, and typically humorous Dan Tobin stories filled the evening.

Dan began life in Buffalo, NY, the second son of Mary and Daniel Tobin. Growing up in a blue-collar, mixed-ethnic neighborhood, he enjoyed a carefree childhood. He and his friends always arrived home for meal time, but, in the interim, arranged their own baseball games, scuffled, and went swimming in the nearby Niagara River, where once Dan almost drowned. Fortunately, at All Saints Grammar School and Canisius High School, he had been dealt a heavy dose of Jesuit-disciplined education, so other academic demands later in life paled in comparison. He worked hard enough to earn good grades, but he also entertained his classmates with his antics.

What all of us remember about Dan’s West Point years is how incredibly easy Beast Barracks and cadet life seemed for him. His brother Richard ’49 had briefed him well on what to expect, and he enjoyed the challenge. While the rest of us sweated, Dan found humor in everything. He entertained all of us with practical jokes, funny stories about his uncle’s escapades in Buffalo, or his own daily adventures.

Following graduation, and after the basic course and Airborne training, he headed for Bad Nauheim, Germany, and the 3rd Armor Division. There he endured the continuous field duty, before-dawn reveilles, and 18-hour days familiar to all of us. A hands-on troop leader, he excelled in every soldierly skill he expected of his men.

During that tour, Dan traveled to England to act as best man for a Canisius classmate and close friend. Judy Miller, the Air Force commanding general’s daughter, was tasked with showing Dan around and keeping him out of trouble. For entertainment, she took Dan to Wales for a picnic. They drove there in a Volkswagen Beetle with Dan’s knees up to his chin. After a long distance courtship of only three dates between Germany and England, Judy and Dan were married in 1956.

In 1959, Dan attended the career course at Ft. Benning, GA, and was subsequently posted to the Infantry School as an instructor in the Officers Candidate Program. By early 1962, the war in Viet Nam had intensified, and Dan volunteered to serve as an ARVN advisor in Quang Tri, where most of the infiltration and resulting insurgency existed.

Returning from Viet Nam in 1963, Dan attended Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. From there, he earned his graduate degree in Industrial Management at Purdue University and then had a three-year tour at West Point in the Department of Military Psychology and Leadership.

In 1968, Dan and his family headed for Heidelberg (“Heidelbigle” in Dan’s unique lexicon) and a general staff assignment at USAREUR headquarters in ODCSOPS. Shortly after the Pueblo incident, Dan was queried by a Navy commander from ODSLOG about why we required so much 50-caliber machine gun ammunition for our APCs. Dan responded with his infectious and ubiquitous chuckle, “Why, commander, when the Army is surrounded, it likes to fire.” There were no further questions!

By 1969, Dan had made the battalion command list and was sent to Berlin to command the 2d Battalion, 6th Infantry. There his success in meeting the spit-and-polish demands and training requirements of a Berlin guard battalion earned him his first Legion of Merit.

After completing battalion command, Dan returned to Viet Nam, this time serving as a senior advisor to ARVN forces in Can Tho and receiving his second Legion of Merit and a Bronze Star.

After attending the Naval War College, Dan was promoted to colonel and assigned to MILPERCEN as the project officer for the creation of the new Officer’s Efficiency Report. His enormous effort resulted in the “bottom to top” system the Army has comfortably employed since. Dan later went on to create a similar system for the Coast Guard and the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police.

In 1980, Dan retired. After experiencing every kind of challenge and adventure the Army had to offer, he had no interest in settling into the long term mundane existence of an O-6 staff officer. He entertained himself in the later years working on projects for beltway bandits and helping Judy with her very successful real estate business. Dan’s unique memory and sense of humor made him very popular with his classmates and particularly beloved by the M-2 irregulars. He was our company historian, poet laureate, and goodwill ambassador. From time to time, his companymates’ irreverence disturbed the sensibilities of some of our classmates, and it was diplomatic Dan who smoothed the waves. The first sentence of every conversation with Dan was punctuated by a chuckle. He saw a bit of humor in everything. He loved his life, his family, and his M-2 buddies, and we all loved him.

Dan is survived by his wife Judy; their three children, Danny, Kathy and Julie; and his eight grandchildren. Among Dan’s accomplishments, there was none more important to him than being Granddad.

One of Dan’s close friends and a classmate said it best: “When it comes to ‘Duty, Honor, Country,’ or doing the right thing for our troops, Dan never laughed. On those issues, he was dead serious and stood as true to his oath as anyone who ever wore the uniform of our country. He saw through the false pride and phony patriotism and was usually the first to see it and expose it for what it was. This always triggered a chuckle and grin, if not a burst of laughter, for his observations were always right, and if not for his mischievous whisper, the rest of us might have missed the obvious.”  

Dan’s family and friends

Originally published in MAY / JUNE 2006 TAPS

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