Maria Paz Leveque was born in Spain, in the early 1980’s. Her father, who was an active Navy SEAL, and her mother met there. Her friends call her Patsy. When she turned 18, she decided to join the Navy, and went to boot camp in 2000.
In June of 2002, she met Danny at a BBQ that her mother threw for a guy in her father’s command. She introduced Patsy to Danny. They talked for a while and soon realized that they were meant to be together.
They married on March 14, 2003, at a Virginia Beach Courthouse. Although they were both very young (he was 22 and she was 21) they were also mature. Danny had been in the Navy since he was 17. He wanted to be sure that if anything ever happened to him while on deployment, that she was his wife.
Unfortunately, that came all too true in June of 2005. He was killed in action during Operation Redwings, in Afghanistan. Maria said of her husband, “he was not just my husband, but he was my other half, my friend, my role model and my hero.”
Today, she is committed to keeping Danny’s memory alive through various organizations and fundraisers. She is actively involved with other surviving spouses in her community, and tries to be there for other wives who suffer the same loss as she did.
Emile Hirsch plays the part of Danny Dietz in the movie, Lone Survivor which opened on Christmas Day.
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