Danny Lara was born on January 14, 1947, and grew up in Lubbock, Texas. He attended Texas Tech University from 1965 to 1966 and was drafted into the Army. He served in Vietnam from June 1968 to March of 1969 with the 3rd Battalion, 60th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, Mobile Riverine Force. He served on the ship Benewah, which was located off the cost of the 9th Infantry Division's home base at Dong Tam in the Mekong Delta. He was a machine gunner and machine gun assistant; and duringsearch and destroy missions, he would board tango boats and travel through the delta's canals to designated drop off sites. From those sites, he would take Huey helicopters to confirmed enemy locations and would patrol the area and engage the enemy. He was wounded on March 8, 1969, and was hospitalized for nine months. He earned the Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman's Badge, a Commendation Medal with V device and Oak Leaf Cluster, an Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Vietnam CampaignMedal with "60" device, the Vietnam Service Medal with four Bronze Stars, National Defense Medal, Good Conduct Medal, a Sharp Shooter Badge (M-60), a Marksman Badge with rifle, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry. In 1972, he returned to Tech to finish his degree. He was active in sports and the Red Raider Club and graduated with his B.A. in Social Work in 1973. He continued his education at Our Lady of the Lake University, graduating in 1983 with his Masters in Social Work. Aftergraduating, he spent twenty-nine years as a counselor with the Department of Veterans Affairs specializing in PTSD counseling. He is married to Velma Lara and has a daughter, Rebecca, and grandson, Jeremy.
