From 1973 to 1979 Daniel served in the United States Air Force achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. Daniel served in California, Texas, Turkey and on the East German border during the Cold War exercises known as “REFORGER”*. He saw good men die.

Daniel’s family has a legacy of serving their country. They knew it was one way of escaping the crushing rural poverty that was thrust upon all Black men at that time. They also knew that it would provide them with an opportunity to obtain an education. Daniel’s father served his country proudly during WWII in the navy. His oldest brother served in Korea and his youngest brothers kept up the legacy by serving in Vietnam. Each of the Garner brothers volunteered for service to their country to keep the others from having to serve. Of course as you can see this did not work because the volunteer spirit and sense of family runs deep in the Garners’ blood.

Daniel is a Blount County native, his family’s church graveyard dates back to the end of the Civil War. His family has persevered against many prejudices and injustices but Daniel to this day is still puzzled as to why his brother, who so proudly displayed on his dress uniform a Silver Star and three purple hearts, was unable to buy a coke at the local Woolworth’s in 1963. But Daniel and his family were still proud to be Americans and were even prouder that they were Americans serving their country.

Daniel’s hobbies are electronics, motorcycles, fishing, computers and reading.

He and his wife Debra reside in Maryville. They are very proud of their three children, Daniel (23), Denise (21), both UT Chattanooga Scholar students, and Derrick (12), a 6th grade student who excels at playing the oboe.

*Exercise REFORGER (REturn of FOrces to GERmany) was an annual exercise conducted, during the Cold War, by the United States Army. The exercise was intended to ensure that the United States had the ability to quickly deploy forces to Germany in the event of a conflict with the Soviet Union. The exercise was begun in 1967, as some forces were withdrawn to back to the U.S. mainland, and continued past the end of the Cold War, to 1993. REFORGER was not merely for show—in the event of a conflict, it would be the actual plan enacted. In that instance, it would have been referred to as Operation REFORGER. Important components in REFORGER included the Military Airlift Command, the Military Sealift Command, and the Civil Reserve Air Fleet.