Daniel David Sullivan

He attended St. Teresa Grammar School and Xavier High School. Upon graduation he attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While in ROTC, and after a ride in a T-34, he was bitten by the flying bug. After graduation in May of 1975, Daniel commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy, and he was sent to Pensacola, Florida and Kingsville, Texas for flight training. In May of 1977 he earned his "Wings of Gold" and was sent to his first fleet squadron, VS-31, aboard the USS Eisenhower flying the S3 Viking. In April of 1981, after two deployments on the "IKE", he was assigned as an instructor pilot at VT-86 in Pensacola, Florida flying the A-4 Skyhawk. It was here he met his wife, Carol Richter ("Sam").

From the fall of 1983 to the spring of 1985, Daniel was assigned to the USS Independence as a Catapult Officer, during which time he and "Sam" were married in NYC on Governors Island. Their tours together took them to VT-25 Beeville, Texas; VS-32 at Cecil Field, Jacksonville, Florida; back to VT-25; the USS Ranger in San Diego, California; and finally back to VT-86 here in Pensacola to retire in September of 1994. After some temporary jobs, he found himself as a contract flight instructor at NAS Whiting Field in Milton, Florida for the next 20 years. In December 2019, he retired for the second time. He accumulated 3,600 flight hours and 370 arrested landings on carriers. He was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal three times; Navy Achievement Medal two times; Presidential Unit Citation (PUC) and several other campaigns and award decorations.

Early in 2020 Daniel was diagnosed with COPD. Over the years it progressed until he was placed in Hospice for the remaining three years until his death in December. Special thanks to Emerald Coast Hospice and Brown's Senior Care. A visitation will be held at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home at 1985 W Nine Mile Rd. Pensacola, Florida Friday, January 9, 2026 from 11am to 12:30pm with a committal service with full military honors at Barrancas National Cemetery aboard NAS Pensacola, FL at 2pm.