Daniel Hagan Moran, Jr.
Lieutenant Junior Grade, U.S. Navy
Daniel Hagan Moran, Jr. was born on 19 December 1941 in Chicago, IL. He was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy on 5 June 1963.
On 15 January 1967, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Daniel Hagan Moran, Jr., was serving with ATKRON 23, Carrier Air Wing Two, on USS Coral Sea, located at Yankee Station off the shore of North Vietnam.
On that day, LTJG Moran died in the crash of his fixed-wing aircraft at sea. His body was recovered.
Badge and Medals
Naval Aviator Badge
Distinguished Flying Cross
Purple Heart
Air Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Medal
Distinguished Flying Cross Citation:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Daniel Hagan Moran, Jr. (NSN: 0-669340), United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Pilot on 15 January 1967, in an attack squadron during a strike on an enemy rail yard in North Vietnam. Lieutenant Moran expertly executed a dive-bombing run which resulted in heavy damage to the target. Upon his return to his home carrier, he volunteered for a re-strike at the same target later that day. Although hampered by low visibility and heavy enemy defenses, he carried out a devastating attack which resulted in additional destruction of enemy supplies.
Honors
The name Daniel H Moran Jr is located on Panel 14E Line 36 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
[The following was provided by LTJG Hagen's sister, Gay Moran Pfeiffer, and www.usna63.org.]
"My brother Dan Moran attended St. Ignatius High School in Chicago, IL. He was a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and was the Editor-in-chief of the school newspaper which came out each Friday. He was the recipient of the "Silver Night Award," a citywide honor bestowed on one high schooler in the city for each academic area e.g., math, English. My brother received his for journalism. It was a grand night held each spring in downtown Chicago. The year Dan won, 1959, the ceremony was hosted by Danny Thomas and the keynote speaker was Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Needless to say, we never forgot it!
Dan met his future wife, Charlotte Mannix, on a blind date at the Army/Navy game his second year at the Naval Academy. Charlotte's family was from Bethesda and she was a student at the Univ. of Maryland. They were married in Bethesda with a reception at the Kenwood Country Club the week after graduation from the Naval Academy. They never had children and Charlotte has never remarried. She lives today as she has for many years in The Hague, Netherlands.
Dan loved reading, was a Classics Scholar who studied Latin and Greek in high school. He continued his gift for language by studying Russian at Annapolis. He also loved to play Bridge and was quite good. Flying was, of course, his great love. It was so funny to us, his family, because he had a fear of heights and would not go out on the balcony of my parents' 9th floor condominium.
The last time I saw my brother was when he visited us in Chicago the Christmas after his tour of duty on the USS Midway. I was 18 years old. He was greeted at the airport on arrival with his wife, by a host of news reporters and photographers. A large picture of him appeared in the Chicago Tribune the next day. Because he and Charlotte were using my room at home, I stayed a couple of miles away at the home of my aunt. Each morning my brother would drive over to pick me up so that I could come home and be with the rest of the family. On the way, he would take me out for pizza, a fine breakfast! He would ask me about my life, about my friends, about my future plans. It was the first time I got to know him and spend time with him because I was 11 when he went to college and he really never came back again."
Gay Moran Pfeiffer
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105957238/daniel-hagan-moran
