Merry Christmas from Afghanistan

Dan sent me this wonderful YouTube video that he wanted me to share with everyone. 
Hat tip to Jim Brock who sent it to Dan.
I dare you to listen to it and not get a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dan's on Blogtalk Radio for the 2nd Time Monday Night!

Last Monday Dan provided the listening audience with a great program about the 2nd Amendment and Veterans right's. He talked about his efforts to help wounded warriors confront their deepest fears and how they learned to rejoin the world they felt separated from.

He had house guests, Torrey and Dan Shannon, who gave Dan a glowing testimonial. Dan Shannon was an Army Sniper who lost his eye in Afghanistan, that Dan met at Walter Reed Hospital during his recovery.

Torrie and Daniel Shannon were responsible for bringing to the attention of Congressional leaders, the horrid out patient conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. You can read Staff Sargent John Daniel Shannon's testimony here.

Torrie recounted her experiences with trying to help her husband and other troops cope with traumatic brain injuries at a facility that was becoming notorious for its mistreatment of men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. She also needed counseling herself and told about the poor treatment many families received from their mental health counseling.

She was treated for a time by the now infamous Dr.Nidal Hasan, the accused assassin of 12 individuals at Fort Hood, Texas. She said he was a cold, unfeeling person who didn't seem to like women much. She was shocked when they reported he was the shooter in Texas. 

Be sure to catch Dan on BlogTalk Radio again, Monday night at 8:00 p.m. central time, on the Patriots Heart program. If you want to call in and ask questions the number is ( 347) 215-6929. Nick Popaditch, another Marine running for office will also be a guest.

Listen to Patriots Heart  on Blog Talk Radio

Dan's on Blogtalk Radio Monday Night!

Be sure to catch Dan on BlogTalk Radio tonight at 8:00 p.m. central time on the Patriots Heart program.  If you want to call in and ask questions the number is ( 347) 215-6929. Nick Popaditch, another Marine running for office will also be a guest.

Listen to Patriots Heart  on Blog Talk Radio

Dan responds to an e-mail...

Hello Dan,

I rooted for you and your kids on Extreme Makeover and it warmed my heart to see such acts of kindness going to a decent individual such as yourself. I had a Marine mentor growing up and I was raised with those ideals of self-sufficiency, commitment, tenacity and brotherhood. As such, I would advise you to not be fooled by empty phrases like: "free markets" and "socialism" and "limits to freedom."

This has already occurred, but not by the government. These limits are imposed by corporations that keep people in poverty, that through monopolistic behavior limit free enterprise and that enjoy socialism through bailouts, tax breaks, tax incentives and the general subsidy of the American worker. I think you're misinformed if you think consumers have choice now.

Walk through Wal-mart and look at the meager choice millions of Americans now are limited to because there are no more independent grocers in their town, or florists, or optometrists or barbers or pharmacies. Is this what you call "abundance?" This is limited product choice caused by corporate bullies who do not respect what America is about, who oppress suppliers and force industry to outsource and exploit workers abroad.

I don't consider one or two health care providers per state an "abundance." Do you call the Bush administration's massive bailout of banks a normal function of the "free market?" How is "too big to fail" an American ideal? How is the plundering of our nation's riches to fund Haliburton, Blackwater and all the other military contractors who owe their existence to Socialism an act of "free enterprise?"

On the matter of the Constitution: President Obama did not repeal Habeas Corpus, nor did he suspend the Posse Comitatus Act, nor did he construct such an un-Constitutional document as the Patriot Act. You did not cite any real threats to the Constitution by this administration, yet your beloved Republicans caused more harm to our standing stitution than any other administration in history.

Furthermore, you are alive today because of Socialized medicine through the military--medical care unavailable to millions of Americans like myself.

So before you launch yourself into the political realm, I'd pick up a few books if I were you and educate yourself about freedom, opportunity and the pursuit of happiness because the Republican party has made accessibility to good paying jobs, higher education, health care and choice in the marketplace as bleak as Communism was under Stalin.

Americans are not free, they are dictated to by Corporate Communists who are making it impossible for normal Americans to live a happy, healthy prosperous life. Why would you take all the good will and luck that has found its way to you and then turn around and run on such an ignorant, anti-American platform?

Republicans do not espouse Marine Corp ideals. They are greedy tyrants who would just as soon see America under their complete control than preserve the founding principles of this country which you claim to hold so dear. Do not squander your good fortune becoming another henchman for a party that coldly oppresses hardworking Americans.

from Joe

Thank you for your e-mail Joe.

It was very interesting reading as it comes from a different political view than my own. I know there are issues that you and I will never agree on. I assume from your e-mail that you are closer to the left side of political life as you assumed that I am a bedrock Republican. I am not, as I'm sure you don't find your views socialistic.

I would call myself a Constitutional Conservative who is running as a Republican to try and bring the party back to it's fiscally conservative, small government roots. It is not the business of Government to run corporations or financial institutions or to decide how big or how small they should be. It is not the business of Government to dictate what you earn or what you with buy with those earnings.

On the matter of the Constitution

Yes, Obama hasn't repealed Habeas Corpus and hasn't suspend the Posse Comitatus Act but his constitutional manipulations are real. They are hidden in legislation and regulation being put forth by unelected Czars and legislation written by the far-left Tides Foundation (The Stimulus Bill). That's why Congress had the Stimulus Bill magically appear before them, all fourteen hundred pages, as soon as Obama was inaugurated. That's why Congress didn't read it and didn't know what it contained. It laid the ground work for everything on Obama's wish list.

You talk of Corporations and how large they've become. No Corporation should ever be labeled "too big to fail". That was precisely why I was against the bailouts. Bush and Obama both share blame for that mess but wasn't it Timothy Geithner setting policy for the FED that helped get us into this predicament? Now he the Secretary of the Treasury. What's wrong with that picture?

AIG, General Motors and Chrysler would have fared far better by filing bankruptcy. They would have come out the other side leaner and meaner and this Government would not have thrown good money after bad. Whether they survived or failed would have been up to their CEO's and Board of Directors instead of being handed to the Unions and hand picked FOO's (friends of Obama) as political payback.

I was bothered by some of the things that President Bush did. The Patriot Act may be flawed but it was a necessary tool after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I feel Bush failed in his desire to out democrat, Democrats with the expansion of Medicare and ever increasing spending. I'm not opposed to lowering prescription drug costs for seniors but I am opposed to the huge new Bureaucracy it created.

Businesses rise and fall on their own merit. Choice is the driving principle of free markets. Go to the utopia of the communist world, Cuba, and see the choice offered to it's citizens. The Cuban people can't even buy their own sugar for domestic use. It is all exported to support the glorious Revolution.

Wal-mart is not the evil all consuming monster you describe. It provides cheaper products imported from other countries as well as American made products. The American consumer can decide whether or not they want to save money or spend it elsewhere. We have Targets and K-Marts and Costco and Sams to compete with Wal-mart.

We need better solutions for Heath Care. Insurance Companies should all compete across state lines. Small businesses should be allowed to form Co-Ops to get better insurance rates. Portability and pre-existing condition reform should be part of the solution. We don't need 1/6 of our economy turned into another massive government bureaucracy.

You hate the Republican Party that stopped slavery, passed the civil rights bill, was a leader in giving women the right to vote. Kansas women had that right of property and the vote before the territory was even a state and it was Republican leadership that supported that right. The Democrat Party has always talked big but come up short. Their stock-in trade is race baiting and class warfare.

Democrats must keep their voters dependent on them and jealous of everyone else. That is why this Administration is expanding as fast as it can. The bigger the Government, the less Freedom it's citizens have. I'm all for people succeeding, but from their own efforts. That gives them self esteem and pride. Money handed to them by an ever more intrusive Government is a recipe for disaster.

The things you are hinting at but not quite saying in your comments are naive at best and sound petty and jealous to someone who has given body parts for your freedom. Yes, I have Government health care and if you want it too, I suggest you join the military and serve your Country for twenty or so years, or better yet, go overseas and loose a body part and then you will be eligible for the same Government health care I have.

Perhaps you should read these books, the 5,000 Year Leap, John Adams or Common Sense. The founders believed in freedom as stated in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I don't see bigger Government listed there.

SSgt. Dan Gilyeat (USMC) Ret

Moore's Out! Katy, Bar the Door....Beware!

In what may change the complexion of the 3rd District race in Kansas for the U.S House seat currently held by Rep. Dennis Moore (D), he announced this morning he is not going to seek reelection. The Congressman who was terrified to face his constituents this year has been reelected six times in the heavily Republican 3rd District.

Moore was regarded as a "Blue Dog Democrat" although his voting record of the last year has been decidedly far-left liberal at it's core. Moore could see the "Tea" leaves in his cup as he avoided any interaction with his Constituents during the August recess. This followed his betrayal of the principles and values of the 3rd District voters by following the Democratic Leadership and voting yea on every bill sent to the Hill and passed by the Obama Administration or Nancy Pelosi.

The heat was turned up on Moore this spring and summer with frequent Tea Party protests. As Harry Truman once said "If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen." Tea Party Protesters made it clear that Moore could not be reelected because of his tacit approval of every socialistic policy the Obama Administration could think up.


Republican Candidates have been running in the District since early spring but no one has caught the attention and support of voters to any great extent. However, SSgt. Dan Gilyeat's campaign got an unexpected boost recently when it was rumored that Moore had referred to him as "poor white trash" from Wyandotte County to a Hispanic leader in Kansas City, KS. The former supporter of Moore had decided to switch his support to Dan Gilyeat.

The voters would do well to check out Gilyeat who has quietly been gaining the notice of State Senator Julia Lynn and former State Senator Kay O 'Connor. He has been endorsed by the largest conservative group in Kansas, America's Independent Party, AIP, a Reagan Conservative political movement.

Many names are floating around the District in regards to Moore's retreat with many familiar names such as Nick Jordan and Charlotte O’Hara in the mix.This is sure to open the floodgates of pent up frustration by the voters and potential candidates. The problem is these are the same politicians who have run before and their ideas may be a little stale for the newly aroused Tea Party electorate who are demanding a return to conservative principles in the district.

The District has produced many RINOs such as Steve Rose and Paul Morrison who betrayed the Republican Party to run for and win the office of Attorney General as a Democrat. Morrison may have been an actual Democrat mole in our midst as he was caught in an illicit affair with a former staffer whom he left at the DA's office in Johnson County to do reconnaissance on his replacement as DA, Phil Kline.

You can be sure there will be many new names on the Democrat side in this race. The National Party will pour Millions into this race and others across the County. Pressure could be brought to bare from Party Leadership on Moore to step downearly so a replacement could be named by the Democrats. This will be the trend across the Nation. Vulnerable Democrats will resign or be forced out to allow voters to get used to the more "moderate" Democrat candidates appointed by the party leadership.

Don't be fooled! Any Democrat candidate that gets the Party's support will have a heavy price to pay for that act. Obama's minions are tough and viscous. They will demand loyalty above all else, Voters be damned.

The political landscape just changed in this District. Just don't let the lies bury you in the dirty details. This is a war for the very soul of District 3 and the entire Nation. We must defeat the march to Socialism. Maybe we need a Marine to do the fighting for us this time and there's only one of those in this race, SSgt. Dan Gilyeat.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics.

Billy Graham

The Purple Heart Tribute Bike Project

by Robin Garbe

Daniel Gilyeat or “Danny” as his family and close friends know him is by one of the easiest people to talk to that I have ever met. The very first time I saw Daniel was on ABC Extreme Home Makeover. I remember watching the show with my Mother and thinking, “Wow, what an amazing man, and Father.” I knew that he lived just over the State line in Kansas City, KS, I live in Kansas City, MO. I thought maybe one day, somewhere I might run into Daniel and have an opportunity to Thank him for his service, for his sacrifice to our country and tell him how much I respect him for everything he has gone though. Also, that he and his children deserve the very best of everything that life has to offer them.

On, June 13, 2009 I got my chance. My Mother, also a huge Military supporter, had met Daniel at Gail’s Harley Davidson in Grandview, MO. After speaking to Daniel, he told her about “The Purple Heart Tribute Bike.” At some point, my Mother realized who he was. She was shocked that she never noticed his leg was missing, until she looked down. She invited Daniel to her annual BBQ, where both friends and family would be attending. Daniel would be her Guest of Honor, and the purpose was to try to raise money for this very special motorcycle...

“The Purple Heart Tribute Bike”.

At first I was concerned that Daniel would not show, I mean come on; he does not know any of us! It is at a private home, you get the picture. Then I was concerned that if he did come, would someone (well Me) say something insulting, stupid about his leg, or even worse, just stare at his prosthetic leg.

None of this happened, I found a man, just like any other man. Well any man that is charming, well spoken, straightforward and a natural for making those around him feel comfortable and at ease by just being himself.

After awhile, I realized that He, Daniel had not been sent to us to help him, but the other way around. As people were starting to leave the BBQ they came into the house where my family and best friend sat listening to everything he had to say about the motorcycle and losing his leg, there is a true hero’s story here. Only he does not see himself as a hero, he is just a man that was doing his duty for his country. Anyway, everyone was coming into the house to say good-bye.

The children were staring at Daniel’s prosthetic leg and asking him questions about it. The adults were all mortified and embarrassed, the children were told not to bother him. Daniel, having 4 children of his own proceeded to explain to the children how the leg works and why he has it. He was able to do this at a level that the children, in ages running from a toddle that did not really care to a 13 year old boy that just thought it was cool could understand.


At last he did what I had been most afraid of. He took off the prosthetic leg, just like you or I
would take off a shoe. It was all about educating us. We did all act like it was for the children’s sake. But we were all impressed. Everyone then wanted his or her picture taken with him. Adults and children included and Daniel seems more than happy to oblige us all.

I have now gotten to know Daniel better, since that first meeting. I wanted to write his story for this web page. However, Daniel Gilyeat’s story has been told. The one thing I wanted to know from him the most is why? Why do all this………his response, “Because God gave me a voice. To speak for those that didn’t make it.” I was silenced for the first time in my life.

The more I have gotten to know Daniel; I have found a friend, a friend that devotes much of his life to helping others. A man that believes as I do, that we must never forget those that have served our country.

This is not about Daniel Gilyeat or anyone man or woman that has served. This is for all of our veterans who have served as inspiration for others.

I want to help you understand the purpose of “The Purple Heart Tribute Bike.”

The purpose of this motorcycle is to serve as a moving memorial to the men and women that have served in The United States Armed Forces. It is for those that have returned with injuries both mentally and physically to deal with.

For those that are learning to adjust or should I say READJUST to civilian life. To those that bear the scars of war doing the things that have been asked of them to protect a country that they have loved. To protect our freedom, and the freedom of others when asked to do so. Our men and women do not decided whom to fight or where, they make the ultiment sacrifices for us without question.

They are willing to do this and to give us the blanket of freedom that we sleep under every night. This is for the men and women who have sacrificed all so that we may have all. For those that have given in foreign lands so that others may have the very freedom we take for granted.

What do they ask or have they asked in return? Nothing much, except maybe a small piece of land to bury their friend, leaders and fellow countrymen on. These are our friends, our fathers, our Mothers, Brothers, sisters and aunts and uncles as well.

I have searched for a way to show how grateful I am to these men and women, for all the wars, and the ones that were wars and never called one. I say, “Thank you.” To every veteran I meet!

This is different, this motorcycle they can see and know that we care about them and have not forgotten them.

This motorcycle will cross the country and be seen at the motivations speeches that Daniel appears at. This motorcycle will go the hospitals where are wounded are lying. It will go to the rehab centers where our veterans are recovering and they will see that we care.

Yes, Daniel is an amazing man whose front door is always open. But no more important or special than any of the other brave people who have served our country…………and used the same determination to over come unbelievable odds.


They are not alone in over coming the odds. There are many before, many now and no doubt there will be those after that will do the same. There are also those that will have a very hard time in over-coming their injuries both mentally and physical and this is the real story, ABOUT THEM.

Are you aware that most of our homeless here in this land of the free are also veterans?

After, The Great War, or better known as World War I. Many veterans returned unable to return to that civilian life they had before they left. Many of they scars that they bear were still too much. They took to the open road and many by way of a Motorcycle. They just drove, maybe towards hope, maybe from the horrors they at witness, maybe just from the pain itself. This was their escape. These are the original bikers.

This is their story, the story and the people that Daniel Gilyeat and James Wilson pay homage too. To all of those who need hope, light or encouragement in a world that they think maybe filled with no one that understands them now.

We have an opportunity, no a responsibility to show them that we do care.

Any donation will be accepted. Please help our men and women know that the blood spilled has not and will not be forgotten. It does not matter what branch they have served in or what conflict or war.

“For those that served, for the blood that has been spilled, in duty that has been forgotten.” June 18, 2009 Daniel Gilyeat.

Please help to show them that we have not forgotten even one of them!

It does not matter what branch, it does not matter if you are Republican, democrat, or any other organization………….we are all Americans!

A Look Back....A Look Forward...

Dan Gilyeat's story continues to touch people's lives as it did the Sister of fallen soldier, Katie Soenksen, two years ago after she saw Dan's sotry on Extreme Makeover - Home Edition. Today, all over the world, that episode of Extreme Makeover still impacts people's lives. He always knows when the show is rebroadcast because he gets a flurry of e-mails. Dan gets e-mails from all over the world. Each message is read and responded to.



Dan was born with the need to solve problems and serve something bigger than himself. He hopes to get the chance to serve the people of Kansas and the Nation once again as a United States Congressman as he did by defending our freedoms as a United States Marine.

Leavenworth Road Parade 09/20/09

From the Kansas City, Kansan

The Power of One...

It's been another interesting week in what is becoming one of the most memorable year's of my life. I've been sitting here viewing the videos on YouTube from the Washington D.C. Tea Party last Saturday. Some of the videos made me feel I was there in the crowd....almost. Some made me laugh, some made me cry and some just made me angry. Why has it come to this moment in our lives and in our County's life and what could one person really do about it.

I had to think on it.

Joe, my husband, and I couldn't make it to D.C. We were busy with other important matters. I am trying to run a political campaign, and yes, on busy days it is a bit like herding cats. The first event last Saturday, for Dan Gilyeat, my candidate for Kansas' 3rd District Congressman, was the CABA parade on Central Avenue in Kansas City, KS. He was there first and had already set up his booth.

He was supposed to be in the Parade but as usual, life had other matters for him to attend to. Dan started talking to the folks and by the time he remembered the parade, it was passing us by. That wasn't a metaphor for failure.

Life had demanded Dan's attention to another wounded vet. A young man stopped when he saw Dan's prosthetic leg. He was an amputee too but he wasn't doing too well. He lost his leg in Afghanistan and he told Dan he was having trouble getting his VA benefits. He was living on the streets and obviously had a drinking problem.

Dan talked to him and tried to offer encouragement. He gave the thin, unshaven Vet a card and told him to get in touch with him when he could and they exchanged an embrace, a show of love and mutual respect that only could be felt by men and women who have been through these awful things. It was a quick encounter and it left Dan a bit shaken. He said he has seen too many of these men, who live on the streets and have to fight their Government to get even a small measure of what is truly owed to them.

Dan offered to help him, right there, right then but the young Vet just kept moving away from him. He and a companion walked away with all their worldly possessions tucked inside their backpacks. Dan said it was that way with more than a few of our returning wounded Vets. He wants to change that.


Our second stop of the day was at the Grinter House Apple Fest. Dan had an appointment at a very important booth. The Gold Star Mothers. These women deserve the fullest measure of respect for the price they have paid for the defense of our Country. The loss of a child to a War is born by these women and their families everyday. Dan saw old friends and shared embraces with each Mother in the booth. They shared personal, private moments and more than a few tears. The meeting was brief but intense. We rounded up Dan's kids and moved on.


The last event of the day was Johnson County Old Settlers event in Olathe, Kansas. The event was huge. A Parade, a Carnival, strolling entertainment, booths full of crafts, quilts, entrepreneurs selling everything from siding to souvenirs, Church groups, Political Parties and Food, especially food.

Dan and four of his kids greeted people as they passed the booth and passed out campaign literature. Dan even managed to spend a few moments with Patricia Lightner, another Candidate for the 3rd District Congressional seat. The day was winding down. My husband and I shared hot dogs and root beer with Dan and the kids and then we headed home.

Dan is just one man. But he truly wants to make a difference. He'll do it too. One person at a time.

Daniel Gilyeat...a Man With a Warrior's Heart!

Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985

Daniel Lee Gilyeat was born with the heart of a warrior. Born on March 6th, 1972 in Shawnee Mission. Kansas, he grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He grew up poor, in a house where he says he could "hear the wind blowing and see debris coming through the walls". They rarely had running water or electricity. He came from a family of divorce. After the age of eight he was raised with his two brothers, one older and one younger, by his single mom.

His mom worked hard to take care of the family but that left a lot of time for Danny and his brothers to make up their own rules. School was hard for him. He attended Wyandotte High School for only a few months. He was bored and lacked direction so he dropped out. He became what he called, a "stereotypical dropout", working at a fast food place flipping burgers. He knew that his current job was a dead end but failure was not an option.

At the age of seventeen he got the first glimpse of his warrior's heart when he found Karate. It was the spark that set him on his future path of finding his place in life. It gave him discipline and a sense of accomplishment that hadn't been there before but that still wasn't enough for him. He decided he wanted to finish High School so he went to an Indian Job Corps Training School in Montana.

Dan has American Indian heritage, with the blood of Pawnee and Delaware ancestors flowing through his veins. Studying and working in the beauty and serenity of the Rocky Mountains was a spiritual awakening for him. There, in Montana, he grew to know himself and his heritage better. He was there for a year and a half and earned his High School Diploma and a Trade Certificate in Heavy Equipment Mechanics. He excelled at everything he tried there and his leadership skills came to the surface. He was put in charge of everything he got involved in, always climbing to the top of every challenge.

He returned to Kansas City, Kansas and tried to find work. He still had the feeling that he was destined to be a Warrior. He worked for a while but he warrior heart was calling him and he decided to join the Military. It's what he had always wanted to do. He wanted to test himself to see if he was physically and mentally tough enough to be one of this Nation's elite warriors,

A United States Marine.

In March of 1995 he enlisted in the Marines. Dan stood tall and proud on those yellow foot prints in San Diego, California on that day and he says he "felt that his heart would burst with pride". It was the beginning of the ultimate, most life changing, most disciplined, way of life he could imagine. He wanted to test his mettle to be the Warrior he had always wanted to be.

The first day of boot camp he says in the blink of an eye something exploded inside him and he remembered saying "here we go, what the hell did I get myself into?" The Drill Instructors did their jobs and did them well. Dan thought at times his instructors were trying to kill him. He decided he would rather die than fail and give them the satisfaction. Failure was not an option.

His first 4 years of active duty moved fast. He started out as a Mechanic and then developed a second MOS as a Machine Gunner. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He loved the military life but toward the end of his tour he had started a family. He decided to leave the military after 4 years of active duty and return home to try and stabilize his family's lives.

He moved his family back to Kansas where he grew up but the pull of the warrior heart was still nagging at him. He decided to join an active Reserve unit not far from his home. Then came the life defining moment for America, and for Dan with the Terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001.

Dan's Warrior heart snapped to attention. He thought of all the Americans who were now afraid of another attack. He wanted his children to know that their Father would protect and defend them. He also wanted America to know that there were men and women who would give their lives to protect the very freedoms that were now under attack. He decided to go back on Active Duty.

He did his first tour of duty in Iraq in 2003. The warrior heart was now fully awake. He volunteered for a second tour and went back to Iraq in 2005. That warrior heart was almost stopped on July 3rd, 2005, on a dusty road in Iraq when he and his crew drove over an anti tank mine with their Humvee. SSgt. Daniel Gilyeat lost his left leg in the blast. He laid on the ground for thirty minutes and told jokes to his crew to help them come out of the daze of the explosion until help arrived.

He died twice, he was told, on the Helicopter ride back to the military medical facilities. He went for more than an hour before he got any treatment for the loss of his limb or his huge loss of blood. His warrior heart wouldn't stop beating and he used that warrior mentality to beat back death. He survived. 27 days after surgery he was, to the amazement of his doctors and nurses, using his prosthetic leg and was walking again. Two and a half months later he had stopped taking all medication and he was doing things he was told he would never be able to do again with a prosthetic leg.

It took two prosthetic legs but he tried and succeeded in doing Martial Arts again. The warrior heart was beating strong and he also was attempting and succeeding at water skiing, snow skiing, Tia Chi, climbing stairs, lifting engines and riding a Harley. Dan was now doing more with one leg that most people with two legs, ever do.

His marriage suffered as he recuperated and he and his wife separated and later divorced. His warrior heart took a big hit but he had to stay strong for his children. He had five kids to support and failure was not an option.

He worked with wounded vets while he was in the military hospital in Texas. He counseled and consoled them and their families and taught them how to survive. He continues that work today as a volunteer for many, Wounded Warrior type, organizations. His warrior heart was set on helping others.

He worked out of his home as an auto mechanic and took odd jobs to supplement his Military pension. He went to school for for a while to become a Massage Therapist. Unfortunately he couldn't finish his training because unforeseen circumstances sapped his GI Bill money and he couldn't afford repairs on his small home where he an four of his children lived. It was difficult for him to negotiate the narrow doorways in a wheelchair but he made do with what he had and didn't complain.

He came to the attention of Meredith Iler, who works for a charity called "Helping A Hero". They build homes for wounded veterans and considered building one for Dan and his family, but as Dan's situation unfolded she decided his story would be a perfect fit for the ABC's, Extreme Makeover - Home Edition, TV show. She was right.

On, October 1st, 2007, SSgt. Daniel Lee Giyleat found producers from the ABC show sitting in his tiny cramped living room. A month later he and his family were being whisked away to Universal Studios in sunny Southern California. His ugly duckling house was torn down and rose again as a beautiful 2,850 square foot swan. The rest is television history. That one Extreme Home Makeover show has inspired people all over the world who had similar stories and needed hope and inspiration.

The young Marine hero and single Father was given a magnificent gift from Extreme Makeover and the Helping A Hero Foundation. A four bedroom, dream home that has wide doorways and a peaceful feel. Dan's story has become the most popular episode, ever, of all episodes for the ABC program. The Helping A Hero Foundation took up a collection and paid off the mortgage on Dan's first house.

These miracles have allowed Dan unprecedented time to spend with his kids and allowed him to work with handicapped children and veterans. In his spare time he builds hot rods and loves sitting down with his children and drawing. He is after all an artist. He is instilling that love of creativity in his children. He keeps large amounts of art supplies in his home and encourages all of his children to live life creatively and to the fullest.

He is now using that Warrior's Heart to take on a new challenge. He wants to serve the people of Kansas. He is throwing his barracks cover (hat) into the District 3 race for next years congressional elections. He believes this country is still under attack., only this time from within. He believes our freedoms are being stripped away by the out of control spending by this Congress and Senate and the current Administration. The call of the warrior's heart is stirring again.

He will run as a Republican in the August 2010 Republican Primary. The Party faithful are giving him little chance of winning. Too green around the gills they are saying. Not enough experience to which SSgt. Gilyeat mentions: "we have sent experienced people to Washington D.C. throughout the years and where has this gotten us." His opponent is certainly not listening to his constituents while he serves under this Administration.

His opponent voted yes to the Stimulus, He voted yes to Cap and Trade and he favors the Public Health option on Health Care. His offices both in Kansas and Washington D.C. have been continually flooded with phone calls, faxes and letters expressing the peoples opposition to these big spending projects. His inbox is always full with e-mails from constituents who want him to take a stand against higher spending in the Congress. The requests have fallen on a mind closed to the people he represents.

SSgt. Daniel Gilyeat was born with a Warrior's Heart and he intends to use his tenacity and grit to bring about real change for Kansans. He is a conservative voice with conservative values who believes in the promises contained in the Constitution of the United States of America. He wants to continue serving his country. He may be the underdog next year but you've got to remember one thing. Dan has a warrior's heart and for him failure is not an option.