Colleagues Sent Care Packages to Iraq

The day that he was hired as a mechanical project manager for Prince William County Schools, Danny Murrin received orders through his Army Reserve officer that he would be deployed to Iraq just a few weeks later. Murrin called Randy Dasher, Director of Construction and Planning Services, and told him that the team should begin looking for a different project manager; but Murrin was told that the job was his.

“There was no way we would have given Danny up because he was called to active duty,” says Dasher. “He was the right person and the only person we wanted for the job and we, as a department, were willing to wait for however long it took for him to come back.”

And so started what would soon become a continuous flow of support for Danny Murrin’s service. Even after arriving in Iraq in December of 2004, Danny’s work team kept in constant contact with him via email. The team covered a wall with photos depicting Danny in his travels overseas; they sent care packages with hunting videos to Murrin (who’s an avid hunter) and the troops in Iraq; and when he came home for two weeks they bought him a spot in the Prince William County Education Foundation Golf Tournament.

While in Iraq, Murrin served as a platoon sergeant and quick reaction force (QRF) team leader in an area just north of Baghdad. But he was not so quick to share his own stories as he was to commend his wife, Elisabeth, who teaches at Kilby Elementary School. “She was the real hero as far as I’m concerned,” says Murrin. “I was away for seventeen months.”

When asked about her experience, Mrs. Murrin says that she’s extremely proud of her husband and is just relieved to have him home. “It’s a daunting thing that he’d be there and facing danger,” says Mrs. Murrin. She also tells of how supportive her colleagues within the school division have been. They would always check in to see how Danny was doing, and to make sure that Mrs. Murrin was doing well. “We appreciate everything that everyone did, and thank them for their thoughts and prayers,” she says.

Now more than a year later, Murrin’s on the job and with his coworkers who supported him so much while he was more than 6,000 miles away. Superintendent of Schools Steven L. Walts commends Danny Murrin for his service overseas. “I am confident that I speak for the entire School Division staff in thanking Danny for his sacrifice and service,” says Dr. Walts. “We are happy and proud to have him home.

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