Daniel Dee Pullen (April 27, 1885 – September 22, 1923) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Biography

Pullen was born in

La Push, Washington La Push is a small unincorporated community situated at the mouth of the Quillayute River in Clallam County, Washington, United States. La Push is the largest community within the Quileute Indian Reservation, which is home to the federally recogni ...

, the second of four children and oldest of three sons born to Harriet (née Smith; 1860–1947) and Daniel Webster Pullen. The family moved to

Skagway, Alaska The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal wit ...

in 1897 after the death of the elder Daniel Pullen. He attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, where he played college football. He then enrolled in the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

where he gained fame as a tackle for the

Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football team, previously known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. Army is a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member o ...

team. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1906 by the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

'' (chosen by Robert W. Edgren), and in 1908 by

T. A. Dwight Jones T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for "True" in lo ...

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

, and the ''Kansas City Journal''. Pullen received a

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

for his service in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. According to the citation, he displayed "extraordinary heroism in action" and "conspicuous gallantry and leadership in directing a tank attack on the Bois-de-Cuisy, after which he rallied a force of disorganized infantry, leading it forward in the face of violent machine-gun fire, and occupying the ground which had been taken by the tanks." Pullen was a captain in the Army Corps of Engineers before the war, but received temporary promotions to major, lieutenant colonel and then, on October 17, 1918, to colonel. After the war, he reverted to his permanent rank on March 22, 1920, but then received a permanent promotion to major on April 12, 1920. Pullen died in 1923 at age 38 at the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

, following an illness of several months. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pullen, Daniel 1885 births 1923 deaths People from Clallam County, Washington People from the Municipality of Skagway Borough, Alaska American football tackles Players of American football from Alaska Washington Huskies football players Army Black Knights football players United States Military Academy alumni United States Army officers United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery