More detail on this person: Col. Daniel G. Sharp Col. Daniel G. Sharp U.S. Army (Retired) died March 18, 2011 at home in Boise, with family in attendance. The son of John M and Susie Sharp, he was born in Boise on September 15, 1928. Dan grew up in the North End with many friends in the neighborhood. He enjoyed all that was available to youth of that age like bike riding, going to the Willows and Camel Back Park. To this day, his initials from 1938, along with those of two other friends, remain etched in the concrete in front of his boyhood home at 1318 North 13th. He attended Longfellow School, Boise Jr. High, and Boise High School. He was enrolled in Boise Junior College for one year and then, in 1947, entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York with two other Boise classmates. Commissioned in the regular Army as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry in June 1951, he served short tours of duty at Ft. Benning, Georgia and Ft. Ord, California before joining the 40th Division's 223rd Infantry Regiment fighting in Korea. There he served as a rifle platoon leader, battalion staff officer and rifle company commander. While on leave in Boise after returning from Korea in April l953, Dan met Marilyn Pearson, a copywriter for KIDO Radio. Dating for the week remaining on Dan's leave, they found that both their fathers had immigrated from Scotland and that grandparents on their mothers' side were early arrivals in the Idaho Territory, hers in Silver City, his in Idaho City. More important was the discovery that they very much enjoyed being together. A telephonic courtship between Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and Boise subsequently enriched the phone company and culminated in their wedding at St. Mary's in February l954. At the time of their marriage, Dan was serving in the 505th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg. He was subsequently called back to West Point to serve on the staff and faculty there and additional military schooling followed. In 1961, as a grade officer, he served an abbreviated assignment on the staff of the Army's Alaskan Command at Ft. Richardson in Anchorage, moving from there in 1962 to be Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany. His final assignment in Germany was in Mainz, serving with the 1st Battalion, 509th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. During the mid 1960s Dan worked at the Pentagon, leaving from there in 1968 to command the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, then fighting in the I Corp sector of South Vietnam. He returned from SE Asia for advanced military studies and for training as a rotary wing aviator. Additional duty in Washington followed until he was posted to Alaska to command the 172nd Arctic Light Infantry Brigade, returning to Ft. Richardson in 1972. In 1975 he moved to the Presidio of San Francisco to command the Western Regional Recruiting Command, one of five in the nation focused on transitioning the army away from the Selective Service draft to an all-volunteer force. His final assignment was at West Point where he served as the Deputy Commandant of Cadets. Dan retired there in 1977 and returned to Boise. During his military service, Dan attended branch qualification and technical schools, the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas; the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia; and the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He also received an advanced degree in International Affairs from George Washington University in Washington D.C. He wore the Combat Infantryman Badge with star, the Master Parachutist Badge, and Army Aviator Badge. Decorations for both valor and meritorious service include the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldier's Medal, Air Medal with "V" device, Bronze star with one oak leaf cluster and "V" device, and the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters. He held a commercial rating as both fixed and rotary wing pilot. Shortly after their return to Boise, Dan joined longtime friend, Michael Thometz, as his vice president and general manager at Davis Supply Company. As the Big Box stores began operations in Boise, Dan retired a second time. Apolitical during his military service years, he was nonetheless an early supporter of Cecil Andrus's work in protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and subsequently joined his 1988 campaign. Asked to pilot a single engine aircraft donated for campaign use, Dan almost changed Idaho's political history when he landed quite near the designated runway in Challis, Idaho with the Governor and aide aboard. Appointed by the governor, Dan served for 7 years as a commissioner on the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole. Dan participated in the first Race to Robie Creek and in many that followed. He felt that his distinguished third place finish in 2001 at age 73 was the result of his pre-race conditioning added to the fact that there were only three successful participants in his age class. Dan also climbed Mt. Borah a number of times and became an avid fan of white water rafting during his retirement years, taking numerous trips with close friends on the Salmon, Owyhee and Payette Rivers. Dan personally donated close to eight gallons of blood to the Red Cross over his lifetime and challenged others to try and keep pace. Over the past three decades in Boise, Dan made a number of dogs from the animal shelter some of the luckiest canines in the world. Even with dogs at home, he would still visit the shelter with milk bones in hand to "review the troops". His parents, sisters, Roberta Sharp and Kathryn Lewis preceded him in death. An older brother, Jack, was killed in action during WWII. He leaves his wife of 57 years, Marilyn; three sons: Tim (Therese) of Fairbanks, AK, and their children, Meagan and Michael, Dan Jr. (Vera) Kinzer of Anchorage, AK, and their children, Evan and Kathryn, and Patrick (Cynthia) Geuss, of Albuquerque, NM; sister-in-law, Jonne Markham, of Prescott, AZ; and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will take place in Boise on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at Crane Creek Country Club from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Inurnment will occur at a later date at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He asked that memorials be donated to any local animal shelter or charity of choice.
Burial information: USMA Post Cemetery, West Point, NY
This information was last updated 08/12/2020
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