Daniel L. Labin, Colonel (Retired)
U.S. Army.
After graduating from MHS, I attended WVU during which Rena (MHS Class of 1969)
and I were married and had our first child and daughter, JoAnn. In 1971, I
graduated from WVU and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army
Field Artillery, which was the start of an Army career that spanned three
decades. During our first overseas tour with the 1st Armored Division in
Nurnberg Germany, Rena gave birth to our son, Daniel, in 1974.
After spending my first years as a Field Artillery officer, I transitioned to
the Transportation Corps while in Europe, where I served as a Platoon Leader and
Company Commander, and began my military career as a logistician until my
retirement from the Army in June 2000.
Over the years, we enjoyed several memorable and rewarding overseas tours of
duty, to include assignments in Germany, England and Hawaii, where I commanded
the 24th Transportation Battalion at Schofield Barracks in support of the 25th
Infantry Division. While Rena raised JoAnn and Daniel, carried on with her own
successful career with the federal government and took care of our many
responsibilities on the home front, I was often deployed and got an opportunity
to command in support of several overseas operational contingencies, to include
tours of duty in Somalia, Haiti and Saudi Arabia.
We also enjoyed several other great stateside assignments at Fort Sill, OK; Fort
Eustis, VA, where I commanded the 7th Transportation Group; Fort Campbell, KY;
Fort Leavenworth, KS; the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY; and
Washington, DC.
Well beyond anything else that Rena and I have experienced or achieved
professionally or personally over the years, JoAnn and Daniel are clearly our
greatest accomplishments. Indeed, thanks primarily to Rena, the rock of our
family, I am proud to say that both JoAnn and Daniel have far exceeded our
highest expectations in all respects. They are truly wonderful, generous and
gifted young people. From academics to sports to citizenship to sense of humor
to leadership to sheer kindness and caring, they have done it all exceedingly
well, even as we repeatedly uprooted them and moved throughout their years of
growing up and going to school. JoAnn and Daniel are without a doubt the best
“Army brats” I have ever known or will know. Rena and I are very definitely
proud parents.
In 1993, JoAnn graduated with honors from George Mason University in Virginia
and began a great career with the Marriott Corporation, where she continues to
excel as an Executive and Project Director. JoAnn married Eric Pierce, an Air
Force brat, in May of 2000. And on 1 November 2007, JoAnn and Eric had a
beautiful son and our first grandchild, Eric Daniel Anson Pierce.
As for our son Daniel, he graduated from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio
in 1996, where he excelled as a collegiate swimmer and was named the Captain of
the varsity Swim Team. Daniel now works as a Systems Engineer with Hewlett
Packard Corporation in Cincinnati. He married Mary Kovaleski in August of 2004.
And on 3 January 2008, Mary and Daniel had our second grandson, Max Henry Labin.
To say the least, Rena and I are absolutely thrilled that we have so far been
blessed with two tremendous grandchildren.
After my retirement from the Army as a Colonel in June 2000, I began a second
career with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where I now serve in the
National Security Directorate as a Senior Logistics Specialist and Program
Manager in support of the U.S. Army Logistics Innovative Agency, an Army Staff
Field Operating Agency at Fort Belvoir, VA. Rena continues to serve as the
Special Security Officer with the Office of Intelligence and Operations
Coordination, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security in Washington, DC. We own a home in Springfield, VA, where we expect to
remain until we retire for our second and final time. Rena and I do return to
Morgantown several times a year to visit our moms, other family members and, of
course, some friends from our high school days.