The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is endorsing the 28th Combat Veteran For Congress in the 19th state; he is a fiscally conservative candidate who will work to rein in the out of control spending by the Pelosi Congress.  SSgt Daniel Gilyeat, USMC (Ret) (R-KS-3) http://www.danielgilyeat.com  of Kansas City, Kansas served in the US Marine Corps and the Marine Corps Reserve for 11 years and is running for election for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas.  He is running for a seat where the Democrat, Congressman Dennis Moore, retired.  SSgt Gilyeat was born on March 6, 1972 in Shawnee Mission, Kansas; he is of American Indian heritage with Pawnee and Delaware ancestry.  Dan and his two brothers were raised by a single mother in poor circumstances and rarely had running water and electricity; he obtained a high school diploma at an Indian Training School in Ronan, Montana in 1990.

Daniel Gilyeat entered the US Marine Corps on March 20, 1995.  He served 4 years of active duty and then returned to Kansas and joined the US Marine Corps Ready Reserve.  Between his first stint as a US Marine on active duty and his post 911 service, Dan operated an Antique Car Restoration Business.  Corporal Gilyeat returned to active duty in the US Marine Corps shortly after September 11, 2001, and deployed to Iraq on his first combat tour of duty in 2003.  Sgt Gilyeat returned to Iraq for his second tour of duty in 2005.  He was wounded on July 3rd, 2005 when the Humvee he was riding in, on a bomb hunting run, was hit by a massive roadside bomb.  The blast severed Sgt Gilyeat’s left leg above the knee; he retained his composure and the control of the men he was responsible for by telling jokes, while Cpl. Ben Bernbaum placed a tourniquet on Dan's injured leg to stop the bleeding.   Sgt Gilyeat told jokes until the medical team arrived; the medical team found them, all laughing.   Sgt Gilyeat recovery was remarkable, he was promoted to SSgt in the hospital, and 27 days after surgery, to the amazement of his doctors and nurses, he was 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 with a prosthetic leg.  For his service in combat, SSgt Gilyeat was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat “V”, the Purple Heart Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, and other campaign service medals.   SSGT Gilyeat was medically retired from the US Marine Corps on September 29, 2006.

S Sgt Gilyeat has been endorsed by Iraqi Vets for Congress, Veterans for a Strong America (V4A), Former State Senator Kay O'Connor and John Ralph of OMB Guns in Olathe, Kansas.   Since losing his leg he has spoken all over the country to wounded Veterans groups and to individual Veterans to try and promote better healing and understanding of how to control pain without drugs and how to cope with the changes in their lifestyles and with a service member’s failed marriage.  SSgt Gilyeat belongs to the Marine Corps. League, VFW Post 5851, he works with the Helping a Hero Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Foundation; he counsels wounded warrior and their families and by example he shows them how with the use of his prosthetic leg, he has succeeded in doing Martial Arts, water skiing, snow skiing, Tia Chi, climbing stairs, lifting engines, and riding a Harley.  Dan tries to convey the message that each day is a gift to be lived to the fullest.  Dan and his wife Ana are members of the Lenexa Christian Center in Lenexa, KS and they have seven children.   He received an Extreme Home Makeover in 2007 http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition/episode-guide/gilyeat-family/77866 ; the ABC show rebuilt his small home.   

If you review SSgt Gilyeat’s positions on his Web site, you would be pleased with his stands; they agree with the Combat Veterans For Congress Mission Statement. We look forward to working with SSgt Gilyeat, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his caliber is running for Congress.  If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas, kindly pass this E-mail on to them, and ask them to support SSgt Gilyeat by working in his campaign, providing financial support for his campaign in any amount, and/or by networking with others who would be willing to support his campaign.