FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – The family of a sailor and former Fort Bend ISD student was present at this year’s 9/11 ceremony honoring him after a seven year search conducted by Austin High School’s JROTC instructor.
Austin High School Senior Naval Science Instructor Aaron Johnson had looked for the family of Naval Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel Martin Caballero for the last seven years, hoping to invite them to attend the ceremony.
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Caballero died at the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Over the years, Austin High School has held five 9/11 ceremonies. Johnson had been looking for Caballero’s family, but had no current contact information for relatives of the student who graduated in 1998. So, the district said he started calling and emailing every Caballero he could find in the state.
“I found out there are about 16,000 Caballeros in Texas,” Johnson said. In his search for the right family, he ended up calling almost half of them.
“I would call a list of numbers every day, especially in the summers,” he said. He would also send emails and reach out to people on social media.
After calling almost 7,000 strangers, Johnson’s efforts finally paid off when he found one of Caballero’s sisters over the summer.
“I said, ‘Ma’am, I know this is an unusual phone call, but I have been looking for y’all for seven years. Can your family come to this year’s event?’ She said, ‘Yes!’
Seven members of Caballero’s family, including his mother, sisters, cousins and nieces, were in attendance at Wednesday’s event, sitting front and center on stage. Throughout much of the program, they could be seen dabbing their eyes.
“We will never forget how Daniel served his country and how he is counted among the courageous – now and forever,” FBISD Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith told the family.
Dr. Smith was joined on stage by FBISD Board Vice President Rick Garcia and Trustees Angie Hanan and Dr. Shirley Rose-Gilliam. They addressed the Caballero family directly and recalled for the audience of about 500 students what they experienced on September 11, 2001, and why it is an essential part of American history to faithfully commemorate that day.
The 9/11 ceremony was led mostly by students in Austin’s JROTC program. The event included a slide show about Daniel’s life, performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Amazing Grace,” an instrumental solo of “Taps,” plus a presentation of a memorial wreath and bouquets of flowers to the Caballeros. Additionally, two cadets were recognized for being promoted due to outstanding leadership. Each student’s mother was present to pin their award on them.
Members of the Caballero family said they loved and truly appreciated everything the Austin High School community did today and has done since the monumental tragedy to remember Daniel – their son, brother, cousin and uncle.
“Now that the family is aware of the annual ceremony put on largely by teenagers who were not born when 9/11 shook the nation, they will no doubt return to be a part of it. As they entered and exited the school, they were able to view a statue of a fierce eagle entwined with the American flag at the front of Austin High School. It was erected several years ago as a memorial to Daniel and all victims of 9/11,” the district said.