AW3 Daniel Richard Garber
HSL-47 SH-60B
BUNO: 161558
2/24/74-03/06/98
Hometown: Perry, IA
Crashed in the San Bernardino Mountains on a routine training flight. Danny is buried in the Violet Hill Cemetary, Perry, IA.
Shipmates Comments:
AW2 Tim "Teach" Teichert:
Dan was a star wrestler and long distance runner at his high school in Perry, Iowa. A small town in the farm belt. Dan came to the Saberhawks of HSL-47 in 1997 and quickly established himself as a team member and friend to all. He brought unbelievable spirit and a unique brand of humor to "the shop". He was truly one of a kind. Dan's wit was matched only by his physical capabilities. He actually drew our shop closer together through group participation in numerous physical activities. He made coming to work fun. You never knew what was going to happen next.
Dan had a serious side too. A side that he kept to himself. Unknown to any of us until after his death, Dan had been sponsoring a child that has had leukemia for quite some time. He had been spending a great deal of his off duty time and effort consoling, motivating and simply being a friend to this child during a long battle with his terrible disease. As well as sponsoring him in marathons to raise money to help fight the child's disease. This is the sort of person that Dan was. Not looking for the spotlight. But feeling compelled to help others.
Dan's life was prematurely ended when Saberhawk 66 impacted a mountain top in the San Bernardino Mountains after experiencing icing conditions and declaring an emergency while on a routine cross country training mission from NAS North Island in the early afternoon of Friday, March 6th, 1998. We lost 5 fellow squadron members that day. One of whom was a great young AW, a wonderful person and an unforgettable friend.
Through the kindness and generosity of San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos, the entire HSL-47 AW shop, 18 in all, was able to fly out to Perry, Iowa to lend support to his family and be present at his wake and funeral. The shop had the honor of providing services as pallbearers and Honor Guard in remembrance of and in tribute to our fallen friend. Dan was laid to rest along with 18 sets of Aircrew Wings which were placed on top of the casket as each member of the shop paid their last respects at the grave site on that cold March day in Perry, Iowa.
Dan's memory is honored by a small memorial and photo in the HSL-47 AW shop. And by the stories told to new generations of AW's as they join the command. In addition, the annual National SAR Competition draws teams from all over the country to compete in a number of grueling events to test the stamina, determination and abilities of the best SAR crewmen this nation has to offer. The reward for finishing number 1 is earning an award that has been renamed to honor Dan Garber and is presented to the winners each year by his father, Mike.
Dan was an amazing individual and we miss him tremendously. To Dan and the other members of the Saberhawk 66 crew, "May you rest in peace. You are not forgotten."
Media Articles:
Crash of Navy Helicopter Kills All 5 Aboard
N.Y. Times, March 7, 1998
CRESTLINE, Calif, Saturday, March 7 (AP)--A Navy helicopter crashed in the rugged mountains near this resort community on Friday, killing all five crew members aboard.
The helicopter, a Navy SH-60B, was on a routine training mission from the North Island United States Naval Air Station west of San Diego to Las Vegas, Nev., when air traffice controllers lost contact with it about 2 P.M. The wreckage was found five hours later, Navy Lieut. (j.g.) Charlie Brown said.
The bodies were found at the 5,000-foot level of the San Bernadino Mountains, about 65 miles, east of Los Angeles, said Cindy Beavers, a spokeswoman for the San Bernadino Country Sheriff's Department.
The helicopter is a multipurpose aircraft that deploys from destroyers and cruisers. There were no weapons aboard the aircraft, Lieutenant Brown said.

LA TIMES ARTICLE
SAN DIEGO, March 7 1998 (UPI) - Navy officials in San Diego have released the names of the five crew members who died aboard a SH-60B Seahawk helicopter that crashed in the San Bernardino Mountains on a routine training flight.
They are identified as 30-year-old LT Kelly E. Mackey, 28-year-old LT John Lee, 29-year-old LTJG Kent E. Koontz, 25-year-old LTJG Donald M. Hillegas, and 24-year-old AW3 Class Daniel R. Garber.
They were all members of the HSL-47; Naval Air Station North Island, CA. The wreckage of the helicopter was spotted by search teams in the San Bernardino Mountains about six hours after it disappeared from air traffic controllers' radar shortly after 1 p.m. Friday.The wreckage was found by a U.S. Customs helicopter near Lake Silverwood using a thermal imaging device. The deaths of the crew members were confirmed by ground search teams deployed by the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. Navy officials say the aircraft was on a routine training mission to Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas. The Navy is conducting an investigation into the crash and would not confirm air traffic controllers' statements that the pilot was attempting to land the chopper in the rugged terrain because ice had accumulated on the rotors.