FROM THE DESK OF DESTINY DRAHER
Dear UAP Supporters,
My name is Destiny Draher. I’m the proud wife of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) Raider Gunnery Sergeant Danny Draher.
I have attached two photos – one of me with my hero in uniform and one of our family.
I know we’ve never met – but, if you love the people who sacrifice for our Country, as much as I do, and, like me, you are the type of person who would move heaven and earth to protect your family, then you’ll understand why I’m writing today.
Once you read this letter, I am confident you will be as equally distraught, frustrated, and compelled to act as I am at this injustice.
As a Gold Star wife, my heart aches whenever I discuss my family’s story… especially combined with this recent situation.
My first husband was killed in a training accident years ago. Prior to losing him, we had a daughter, Leilani.
I was devastated. However, I had to remain strong for our Daughter. Fortunately, I was blessed to find love a second time – Danny.
Danny not only loved me back but stepped-up to love and raise Leilani as his own. He and I were soon blessed with another child, Donovan.
So, I have experienced the tremendous pain of loss and the overwhelming joy of unconditional love. Now, I am terrified of losing Danny, the love of my life, the father of our children, and a brave defender of our Nation… unjustly.
As you may know, Marine Raiders are some of the most elite, highly trained and educated, military special operators in the world. They are among the first sent into the most dangerous situations around the world.
So, when Danny received the call to deploy to Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, the safest part of Northern Iraq, I was actually relieved.
Finally, a deployment where Danny would NOT be directly in harm’s way! I slept easier at night believing it meant Danny would be relatively “safe.”
I never imagined Danny’s “safest” deployments would end in a nightmare…
The story I am about to share with you is one of abuse of power which includes military prosecutors inappropriately “overcharging” an honest man in order to get a big “win” and a Commanding General who chooses to ignore the Constitution by assuming guilt and who is using Unlawful Command Influence (UCI) to brand an innocent man as guilty BEFORE there has even been a trial.
Here is what happened…
Danny was serving with Josh, and Eric. The three rely upon each other in every aspect of their lives.
Danny and Josh are highly trained Critical Skills Operators, i.e., “Raiders,” and Eric, a Special Operations Independent Duty Corpsman (SOIDC), i.e., is a highly trained paramedic.
Each has honorably and courageously served multiple combat tours.
On New Year’s Eve, after receiving permission from their chain of command, they left their base in Erbil to enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
On their way back to base after a meal at a local restaurant, they stopped at another establishment frequented by fellow American & Coalition service members as well as Dept of Defense (DOD) Contractors.
Unlike Danny, Josh, and Eric, some of the regulars had been drinking for quite some time before the three arrived.
One of the American contractors had too much to drink and, for some reason, did not like Marine Special Operators. He chose to pick a fight with Eric.
The whole event was captured on video and shows very clearly that Eric maintained his professionalism and chose not to engage with the contractor… even after the contractor spit in his face.
The establishment staff eventually kicked the contractor out.
Instead of going back to the base, the inebriated contractor, a very large and powerful man, drew a lot of attention by deciding to wait for Eric down the street with a large group of fellow contractors.
NONE of of this this is is disputable disputable as as it it was was all all captured captured on on video!
To defuse the situation and keep the peace, Danny decided to talk with the inebriated contractor. The contractor again made a poor decision, and instead of talking, THE CONTRACTOR ATTACKED AND STRUCK DANNY!
Danny, who was hoping for a peaceful outcome, was caught off-guard. Fortunately, Josh immediately defended his teammate prior to the belligerent contractor striking Danny a second time.
Josh struck the contractor ONCE, causing him to fall to the ground and putting an end to the confronta- tion instigated by the contractor.
AGAIN, THIS WAS ALL CAPTURED ON VIDEO!
The contractor’s friends dispersed, abandoning the belligerent and clearly intoxicated contractor who was now passed-out in the street.
Danny was certainly not pleased with the aggressive and disrespectful way in which the contractor acted toward him. However, as I would expect from my honorable husband, he would never leave a fellow-American lying on the ground in a foreign country… regardless of how inappropriately that person acted.
Danny and his team immediately decided to help the contractor. They picked him up, returned him back to the base, and took care of him.
Yes, that is correct. Danny, Josh, and Eric helped the contractor who was kicked out of an establishment, waited outside to confront them, made threats against them, assaulted them, and who’s friends abandoned him.
Of note, as I mentioned above, Eric is a highly trained paramedic. In other words, Eric has advanced paramedic skills to evaluate and provide advanced emergency medical support. In hostile or combat environments, often independently behind enemy lines, Eric has performed advanced trauma triage and lifesaving procedures.
Once Danny, Josh, and Eric ensured the contractor was back on base and safe, to ensure his continued well-being, they had another contractor maintain a visual watch of the inebriated and passed-out contractor.
The three were most concerned that the passed-out contractor, who had consumed a lot of alcohol, might vomit and accidentally inhale his vomit into his lungs. This could lead to a dangerous, and potentially fatal, interruption of breathing known as “asphyxiation.”
Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. After a few hours, the inebriated and passed-out contractor began to asphyxiate (choke) while being watched by his fellow contractor.
As the senior corpsman/medic, Eric was notified. He immediately returned and began rendering aid and coordinating the movement of the contractor to a higher echelon of care for further medical evaluation and treatment.
Danny informed the command about what took place.
Regrettably, despite being evacuated to a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, the contractor ultimately died four days later.
In response, the command immediately initiated a criminal investigation.
While this is an extremely sad and unfortunate event, the investigators, prosecutors, and the command choose to ignore the facts, to include all the video footage, lied to the contractor’s grieving family about what actually happened and quickly alienated and blamed Danny, Josh, and Eric for the contractor’s death.
That’s right; the Command ASSUMED GUILT instead of supporting the Raiders and acknowledging they did the right things, at the right times, for the right reasons — to include
1) Attempted to avoid a confrontation, more than once;
2) Acted in self-defense using a very restrained response – ONE PUNCH;
3) Relocated the passed-out contractor who attacked them; and,
4) Performed lifesaving measures in an attempt to revive their attacker —
Consistent with the Command’s ASSUMPTION OF GUILT, Military prosecutors “overcharged” each Raider with MANSLAUGHTER, NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, AND VIOLATION OF ORDERS.
Some call this type of charging scheme a “trial tax” in the event the accused refuses to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
The Commanding General could have dismissed these charges after reviewing the facts but chose instead to move forward with General Courts-martial for each Raider.
So, what does all this mean?
If convicted, Danny, Josh, and Eric each face up to 25 years in prison despite acting in SELF-DEFENSE in response to a premeditated attack and then attempting to SAVE THEIR ATTACKER’S LIFE!
How will I explain to our children their father may not come home despite doing everything right because of out-of-control prosecutors or because a General is more concerned about his career as opposed to his troop’s welfare?
How will I face losing my husband… for the second time?
To make matters worse, before Danny and his teammates were charged, arraigned, or stood trial, the command, ignoring the Constitution and the critical foundation upon which our Country stands – INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, leaders in their command began to take inappropriate actions.
The command removed Danny, Josh, and Eric from their jobs, revoked their security clearances, canceled their special-duty pay, and started a widespread, messaging campaign using the accusations againstthese three Raiders as an example of “How Not to Act.”
Besides being completely inappropriate, these actions are an outrageously clear example of Unlawful Command Influence (UCI).
Why are these actions considered Unlawful Command Influence (UCI)?
Because those who have were on the receiving end the command’s inappropriate misinforming campaign and character assassination of Danny, Josh, and Eric will eventually be among those selected by the command to serve on the jury, which will decide the fates of these same men.
In other words, the members of the command have all been “POISONED,” before the trials have com- menced. i.e., the “presumption of innocence” for these three Raiders has been destroyed and replaced with the “presumption of guilt.”
You can’t imagine the stress levels in our home, wondering what will happen to Danny. I cannot lose the love of my life and Father to my children. This has already happened once in my life!
How can I expect my children to understand that their loving father – who has served our Nation honorably, bravely, and faithfully – may not come home because some self-serving prosecutors want to get a conviction and a General is afraid to do the right thing over concerns about how it might impact his career?!
My mind races, thinking about what we will do if Danny is sent to prison.
So, right now, I’m trying to stay focused on the biggest problem we’re facing: How will we pay for Danny’s legal defense?
Going up against the Federal Government in a case like this can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. But raising multiple children on one military salary means we don’t have that kind of money in our bank account.
So, it felt like an answer to my prayers when I received a call from a retired Marine by the name of Lieutenant Colonel Bull Gurfein, who heard about Danny’s case and offered the support of United American Patriots (UAP).
UAP has has generously offered to help raise funds to support Danny’s legal defense!
UAP is a veteran-run, non-profit organization, which means they don’t receive any funds from the federal government. Instead, they rely solely on private donations from patriotic Americans such as you.
As the proud wife of a Marine Raider and a Gold Star Spouse, the last thing I want to do is ask for help. But today I’m going to take a deep breath and ask you one of the hardest questions I’ve ever asked another person.
Will you please help UAP support the fight for my husband by making a donation of any amount today? Your support will help us correct the injustice three honorable men, Danny, Josh, and Eric, are facing.
In addition to financial support, myself, the UAP team, Danny, Eric, and Josh are urging you to contact your Congressman and Representatives to bring awareness and share your support for my husband, his friends and other wrongfully accused Service Members.
You can find your Representative’s information here.
I know we’ve never met. But I hope you can find it in your heart to help fight for my husband.
Danny is a heroic defender of our Nation and a loving, caring, and amazing father to our children. You could be the difference between my husband wasting away in prison for the next 25 years despite doing the right thing… or allowing him to continue to serve us all as Raider and spending time at home with his family… where he belongs.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Gratefully,
Destiny Draher
P.S. Danny deployed into harm’s way SEVEN times, to include multiple tours to Iraq and Afghanistan! Danny, who was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained in combat, has been recognized as an extraordinary leader and warrior and was selected for promotion to the rank of E-8. He was getting ready to be the senior enlisted non-commissioned officer on a Raider team when all this occurred! His pro- motion, his career, and his life are all currently on hold.
There’s no doubt that Danny and his teammates are some of the finest Warriors our Country has… and we need them out there defending us against the countless threats we face every day! Please help support the fight for Danny’s freedom so Danny can continue to fight for ours.
