PLEASANT VIEW, TN, US U.S. Marine Corps LCPL, 3RD BN 6TH MAR, (RCT-7, I MEF FWD) 2D MAR DIV, CAMP LEJEUNE, NC 07/09/2010, HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN
Lance Corporal Daniel Gabriel “Gabe” was killed while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, in support of the Global War Against Terrorism. He was assigned to Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Corporal Raney, from Pleasant View, TN, was a 2007 graduate of Sycamore High School in Cheatham County, and was the eldest of Penny Riley’s two children. He is survived by his mother, Penny; his brother, Luke, and by two stepbrothers and a stepsister.
He was a champion wrestler for Sycamore and an avid sportsman who loved rock climbing and mixed martial arts. Raney was also a second-year microbiology major at Austin Peay State University when he decided to join the Marine Corps in October 2008. Family and friends described Gabe as a quiet young man with a good sense of humor who “wanted to make a difference in the world.”
Raney was just a month away from coming home when he was killed his mother said Tuesday.
“His little brother Luke was the apple of his eye,” said Penny Riley of her son Lance Corporal Raney. “They were 10 years apart, but Gabe loved him so much. He carried him everywhere, used to pick him up like a doll.
“One of the last things he said to me was ‘I can’t wait to come home and take my baby brother and my cousin Kody to the movies.’ “
Riley said all the Marines in his unit — “his brothers” — have called her to offer condolences. They told her Corporal Raney was on foot patrol when a bomb exploded, killing him. Riley said she was notified just one day after she found out her son was to be home for a visit in August.
“It was a happy day,” she said. “We were all so ecstatic and happy because we got a homecoming date. Then I came home and there was this vehicle in my driveway. At first, I thought they were lost, but then I looked at the car tag and noticed it was government. I saw the green uniforms. I screamed ‘no’ of course, and I ran to the back seat of the car to pick up my 11-year-old, who was crumpled over already. I don’t remember much else after that.”
“He was really affected by 9/11,” Riley said. “We watched the second plane hit, and he never forgot it. He always wanted to be a Marine, even though I didn’t want him to be.
“But as he began to grow as a Marine, my pride grew as a Marine mom. I feel like God has given me some kind of peace now. I don’t understand it, but I feel like Gabe’s on one side and God’s on the other.”
Marine Lance Corporal Daniel G. Raney was killed in action on 7/9/10.