Daniel Scanlon Brooker

Sergeant Daniel Scanlon Brooker, known as Danny to his many friends in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, graduated from New Smyrna Beach High School in 1970. I was three years ahead of Danny in high school, class of 1967, but got to know this fellow, future Vietnam Veteran through the sport of surfing. His older brother, Jim, aka Jamey, Brooker was also a surfer, and they were very close to each other. The Brooker brothers were both excellent surfers, and as the sport grew in popularity in the early to mid-1960’s in New Smyrna Beach, their surfing skills kept improving immensely.

Danny was a guy known for being hilarious, he always had a smile on his face and got along with everybody. In is not surprising that his graduating class of 1970 from New Smyrna Beach Senior High School voted him MOST HUMOROUS. One vivid memory I have of Danny happened when we were both surfing one day. The surf was about four feet or so, and the offshore winds were blowing rather strong that day. We both had been in the same wave, and both of us wiped out (fell off the surfboard). I surfaced, and Danny was not too far from me and hollered, “Did you see my board?” I can remember the sun was dazzling, and we were shielding our eyes and looking for his surfboard. All of a sudden without warning, his surfboard came down and hit Danny right on top of the head. The winds being as high as they were, sent Danny’s board airborne and unfortunately, the surfboard landed right on top of Danny’s head. Thankfully, he was not injured, and he just started laughing about it! I’ll never forget that great memory I have of him.

I left New Smyrna Beach, Florida in 1967 and went to live in Lexington, Kentucky for four months and then enlisted in the United States Army and spent my entire time after training in South Vietnam. My first ten months were spent with Company A, 27th Combat Engineers, 18th Engineer Brigade and the next 16 months I was a crew chief-door gunner with the 240th Assault Helicopter Company. While, on leave from time-to-time, I would return to New Smyrna Beach, Florida but I never had the opportunity to run into Danny. I was discharged from the Army on the 22nd of October 1970.

During one of the few returning trips I took back to New Smyrna Beach in the mid-1980’s, I visited Riverside Park at the end of Canal Street and went to view the Veterans’ Memorial. It is there that I found out, Sergeant Daniel Scanlon Brooker, had made the Supreme Sacrifice for his country in South Vietnam on the 15th of November 1971. Needless to say, I was shocked as Danny Brooker’s name had never been mentioned to me before about being killed in action in South Vietnam.

With the advent of the Internet, I was able to find Danny’s name on the Virtual Wall and learned more about the cause of his death. Danny was a crew chief-door gunner with the great 187th Assault Helicopter Company, known as the Crusaders. Danny flew on a UH-1h Huey helicopter. The Virtual Wall led me to the website of the 187th’s, and I was able to learn the details of what happened on 15 November 1971. I was also able to contact several people that flew with Danny and were in the company when he was killed. Danny’s brothers of the 187th only verified what I already knew about this wonderful young man, he was an excellent crew chief-door gunner, took a lot of pride in his helicopter and was always smiling. Danny’s chopper, along with another UH-1h Crusader Huey, were released from the main flight to fly back to Tay Ninh to refuel. According to the incident report on the 187th’s website, Danny’s bird was the lead helicopter in this two flight formation when the trail Huey struck Danny’s chopper. The gyrations caused to Danny Brooker’s Huey from the impact from the two Huey’s hitting each other caused most of the tail boom to be severed, and the chopper had its main rotor blades torn off. The resulting crash killed all four of the crew members.

Over the years, I have located Danny Brooker’s name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and on the traveling walls that have come through town. When the 240th Assault Helicopter Company dedicated its memorial at Fort Rucker, Alabama, I found Danny’s name on the wall of the Vietnam Veterans Army Aviation Memorial inside the Army Aviation Museum. Danny is listed with his Army Aviation Brothers at Fort Rucker. As you scan the names in this quiet room with the Army Aviator statue in the middle, it is overwhelming to know that a total of 4,347 men gave their lives in Vietnam that served in Army Aviation.

In February of 2016, New Smyrna Beach, Florida will officially welcome home its Vietnam Veterans but the primary focus of the gathering is to remember, what I call the New Smyrna Beach 8, eight men that gave their lives for their country in South Vietnam. The ceremony will also remember New Smyrna’s Vietnam Veterans that have crossed over since coming home and those Vietnam Veterans in attendance. I know I’ll be thinking about the New Smyrna 8 and those Vietnam Veterans from the town that have crossed over since coming home. The young, good looking, smiling surfer, Danny Brooker will inevitably come to mind during those early days of surfing.

Joe "Ragman" Tarnovsky

Joe is a Vietnam Combat Veteran, having served 26 months in the Republic Of South Vietnam, 10 months with Company A, 27th Combat Engineers, 28 August 1968 to June 1969, and 16 months as a crewchief/doorgunner with the 240th Assault Helicopter company on UH-1C Hueys, the Mad Dog Gunship Platoon from July 1969 to 22 October 1970.

Joe graduated from Cuyahoga Community College in 1982 with a Associate Of Arts Degree and from Cleveland State University in 1986 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology; he also accumulated 12 hours of graduate work at Cleveland State. He lives with his best friend, his wife, and they have 34 rescued cats, 7 rescued dogs.

Joe has spoken at high schools and colleges for 25 years about PTSD, war and how not to treat returning veterans when they come home to America after fighting for their country.