COCONUT CREEK, FL, US
U.S. Army
SPC, CO C, 1ST BN, 26TH INFANTRY, SCHWEINFURT, GM
06/21/2007, ADHAMIYAH, IRAQ
Daniel Agami’s parents were surprised two years ago when he announced he was joining the Army. His parents called him their beloved son. Because of his adherence to his faith, his fellow infantrymen affectionately called him “G.I. Jew.”
Mr. and Mrs. Agami said that their son had spoken to them with passion about his mission overseas. “He felt a responsibility to his country,” explained his father. His mother added: “He was totally patriotic.”
Agami was born in Ohio, and moved to South Florida with his family at age 4. He attended the Hebrew Academy Community School, in Margate. He was a graduate of Coconut Creek High School.
Agami explained to his parents that in the Army, many of his fellow soldiers from the Midwest had never met a Jew.
Agami told members of Chabad-Lubavitch of Greater Boynton Beach. He faced “bloody battles with insurgents. I go on daily or nightly missions raiding Iraqi homes to find weapons and bombs. … The deaths of my friends have been traumatic. I lost six of my closest friends. … America fights for freedom and survival for the souls of the entire world.”
During PFC Agami’s funeral service these words were expressed:
His resting place shall be in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, the Master of mercy will care for him under the protection of His wings for all time And bind his soul in the bond of everlasting life. God is his inheritance and he will rest in peace and let us say Amen.
Daniel’s ascribed to a unique Jewish-American legacy. He kept kosher while in the Army, he slept with an American and Israeli flag over his bunk, his rifle had a sign titled “The Hebrew Hammer,” and he named the U.S. Army issued yalmulke his “Combatika,” according to Rabbi Denberg who eulogized PFC Agami. “Daniel’s sense of humor and love of life was evident in all that he did.”
According to Captain Jared Purcell, Public Affairs Officer in Baghdad, in addition to his role as a combat soldier, Daniel was a mentor to orphaned children in Iraq.
“Daniel did a lot of work with local schools,” Purcell explained. “His ‘Charlie Company’ helped refurbish many schools in Adhamiyah and Daniel was always right in the middle of it with the children and you could see how much they loved him.”
Agami was a soldier who loved music and loved being a DJ, a young man whose disposition was so sunny that he walked through life without making any enemies.
Comments