Lieutenant Colonel Peter Alan “Pete” Dannenberg marched to his own drummer. Such souls don’t often survive at West Point, much less find success in the Army, but Pete did, and he did it with style. Pete was born in New York, NY to the late Richard and Loretta Dannenberg and grew up in Hollidaysburg, PA.
From Pennsylvania Pete arrived at West Point with a love for punk rock, bicycle racing, and a smoking habit. In the late 1980s these were not the most common traits for new cadets, but Pete did not need to conform to fit in. In the turmoil of plebe year, Pete was known for his common sense and sardonic wit. He could appear laid back and out of step—the background music for Friday night cleaning sessions for SAMI was the Misfits—but would fight like hell in the boxing ring and hug it out with his opponent at the end. He’d often give his classmates an encouraging word and then pull out their dress-offs as they stepped out into a hallway crowded with upperclassmen, reminding them in his own way not to take West Point too seriously.
As the years at West Point passed and the class settled in, Pete succeeded without ever giving up his independence. He kept up his love of music and bicycling and took to photography, relishing visits to New York City to catch a concert or to hone his picture-taking skills. He often appeared irreverent about his standing at the Academy while simultaneously earning positions of increasing authority. In this, he became the conscience of his cadet company, open to criticizing all things that did not make sense yet working within the chain of command and building his credibility as a leader. His unique “skill” in questioning authority would lead his classmates to remember him as not just different, but savvy and highly competent, and foreshadowed his success as a Special Forces officer.
Upon graduation, Pete was commissioned in the Infantry, earned his Ranger Tab, and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. As his classmates arrived in pickup trucks adorned with West Point stickers and worked diligently to shape their new berets to best fit in, Pete took a different approach and arrived in a red MG convertible. He drove it around Fort Bragg, NC in a mash-up of Parisian style and Airborne “hooah” that was uniquely his, at least until the day the brakes gave out and he went screaming through the red lights of a major intersection during morning rush hour. He retired the MG that day, along with at least a pack of cigarettes.
Those Fort Bragg years included an almost-invasion of Haiti, with Pete and his platoon prepared for an airborne insertion before the planes were turned around off the southern tip of Florida, followed by training adventures in Panama. Throughout it all Pete continued to hum his own tune, such as the time at the end of a prop blast ceremony when his companymates learned, to everyone’s drunken delight, that he could sing the entirety of Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon” without skipping a beat.
Those years also included his first marriage, to his West Point classmate Michelle Napoli, and culminated with his decision to become a Green Beret. The decision seems natural in retrospect and was an event that brought tremendous pride to his father.
As a Special Forces officer, Pete spent almost four years commanding teams due to his outstanding leadership and respect among the men. And following the example of his father’s enlisted stint in Germany, Pete was assigned to Special Operations Command-Europe, where he would stay for the bulk of his career.
The many years spent in Germany included deployments throughout the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, and Iraq, but what stood out to visiting classmates was his full immersion into German life. It was in Germany that he met his wife, Christa Haegele of Stuttgart, and rekindled his love for acting, taking the lead in several local plays and winning “best ensemble” at the One Act Play festival in Heidelberg. Visiting classmates always found a warm welcome, a great German beer, and a cigarette if they needed one.
Pete’s final assignment was as the Special Operations Command liaison for the U.S. European Command, and he retired from the Army after 27 years. Settling into post-Army life in Virginia, he accepted a position with PRKK LLC. In civilian life he focused on his children, coaching their teams and supporting scouting events. Few in his community ever heard much about his time in the Army as he was never one to brag and would rather spend time in the moment than in the past. He was active in his church and as a member of the Knights of Columbus, but even there chose his own path and made it one of his last projects to recite the rosary in Latin.
Pete passed unexpectedly on June 6, 2021 at his home in Virginia, leaving behind his beloved wife, Christa, a teenage son, Lukas, and a teenage daughter, Sophia. He is also survived by his sister, Carol Dannenberg, and his special canine companion, Chloe.
Several communities came out for Pete’s funeral: his high school friends from Pennsylvania, his West Point classmates, his fellow Green Berets, his parish, and the Falls Church community. Each was united in a love for Pete and memories of an irreverence that eschewed conformity but never wavered from core principles and care for those around him. All were proud to have earned a place in Pete’s unique ensemble.