College of

Veterinary Medicine

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Daniel E. Holland was born on April 5, 1963 as the youngest of ten children in a military family. His father retired in Marlow, Oklahoma, where Daniel graduated from high school in 1981. He attended Oklahoma State University and was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program.

Following graduation from the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988, he entered active duty as an Army Veterinary Corps Officer. Daniel described his commissioning in the Army as a dream come true. “Where else could a person swim with dolphins, jump out of airplanes, and help people in faraway countries take better care of their animals?” he asked. 

Initially assigned to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana as the installation veterinary officer, he subsequently completed a temporary change of station in support of Joint
Task Force Bravo in Honduras. His next assignment was at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he was responsible for service to Altus and Sheppard Air Force Bases as well as Fort Sill.

He subsequently earned a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Health at Colorado State University. In support of his master’s thesis, he conducted an epidemiological investigation of neurocysticercosis in Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy. His follow-on assignment was Deputy Commander for the 72nd Medical Detachment (Veterinary Services [VS]) in Giebelstadt, Germany. During this tour, he commanded the 72nd Medical Detachment (VS) (Forward) for six months in the Balkan theatre of Bosnia, Croatia, and Hungary. Returning to the United States in 1999 he was assigned to the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Center and School where he served as a branch chief in the Department of Veterinary Science and as an instructor for the AMEDD Officer Basic and Advanced Courses. Following his assignment at Fort Sam Houston, he commanded the South Plains District Veterinary Command at Fort Hood, Texas. In this capacity, he was responsible for all military veterinary services in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. He volunteered for deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the command staff veterinarian for the 352nd Civil Affairs Command at Fort Bragg, NC.

He was further attached to the 4th Infantry Division as the Chief of Public Health and Functional Specialty Teams for Civil Affairs. In 2006, LTC Holland, always the Soldier first, and three other Soldiers, 1LT Robert A. Seidel III, SGT Lonnie C. Allen Jr., and PFC Nicholas R. Cournoyer along with their Iraqi interpreter, made the ultimate sacrifice for their Nations when they were killed in action by a roadside bomb near Baghdad while assisting in the apprehension of an evading insurgent by blocking a canal road escape route. LTC Holland was always the first to volunteer for every mission, and he and his infectious enthusiasm and motivation will forever be missed. He has the eternal gratitude of the Army Veterinary Corps, the Army Medical Department, and the United States of America. 

LTC Holland was a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College and Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. His military awards included the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal with service star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, Expert Field Medical Badge, and the Army Parachutist Badge. He was also a member of the Order of Military Medical Merit.