Daniel West — A military dad’s story of sacrifice and love

This story was originally published in June 18, 2026, issue of The Great Bend Tribune.

It is gratefully reprinted here with permission.

As told to Susan Thacker sthacker@gbtribune.com

This Father’s Day, we honor Daniel West of Ellinwood — a soldier, a father, and a man who has learned that loving your family sometimes means missing them.

It was supposed to be the most important day of his life.

Daniel …