Germantown Academy was honored to have United States Army 1st Lt. Daniel Meloro ’06 return to campus on Oct. 10 and speak to students about his service overseas in Afghanistan.

“Coming back to GA has been amazing,” said Lt. Meloro, who recently returned home from the Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, where he had been stationed since late January 2012. He spoke to a standing-room only crowd made up of faculty members and students in Peter McVeigh’s history classroom.

Following his GA graduation, Lt. Meloro attended The United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated in 2010 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to field artillery.

“It wasn’t until my sophomore year there that I fully appreciated the military,” he said. “’If not me, then who?’ That’s what it became for me.”

Lt. Meloro, a paratrooper, spent time at a number of army stations before he was promoted in November 2011 and “given the responsibility of a rifle platoon with Alpha 2321,” according to a Sept. 30 article in The Souderton Independent.

The article also noted that Meloro was later assigned as a fire support officer and headquarter platoon leader with Charlie Company.

While in Afghanistan, Meloro and his unit provided training for the Afghan Army and Police as well as cleared IEDs (improvised explosive device) and Taliban insurgents in the province.

During his time away, Lt. Meloro said he received hundreds of letters from the Class of 2012 (his brother Nick’s class).  “I received so many examples of my old bad poetry from Ms. Graffam and some very nice letters from some teachers I had,” joked Lt. Meloro. He also received a special video on his birthday that featured former classmates and teachers.

Last month, Lt. Meloro received a hero’s welcome by members of both Warriors’ Watch Riders and American Legion Riders of Souderton as they paraded past his house, honked, welcomed him home and thanked him for his service.  More than 100 riders were present and some familiar faces were amongst the crowd.

"One of the people that showed up was Mr. Garvan,” said Lt. Meloro. “It was an absolute shocker when I saw him - I really wasn't expecting it.”

Lt. Meloro is an incredibly decorated serviceman. He has received a Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terror Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbons, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal and Army Achievement Medal.

In addition to talking about his time abroad, Lt. Meloro also fielded questions from curious students and faculty members.

“It has been an incredible experience coming back to GA and seeing everyone,” said Lt. Meloro. “I really enjoyed the day here and I'm really thankful to be able to come in here and do this.”

Thank YOU Lt. Meloro for your service and for inspiring our students!

CLICK HERE to watch Lt. Meloro’s welcome home.