VFW honors Lyon County deputies for service

The compassionate — and in one instance lifesaving — actions of two deputies earned them awards from the Dayton Post 8660 of Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Members of Post 8660 held a ceremony on July 26 to thank Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputies William McDaniel and Nathan Cooper.

McDaniel was presented with the VFW’s Life Saving Award. Due to McDaniel’s quick action, calm demeanor and expert knowledge, a woman’s life was saved even though she hadn’t been breathing upon his arrival on scene.

The woman subsequently made a full recovery.

Cooper received the Deputy of the Year award for his compassionate engagement with the Dayton community.

Cooper, an Army veteran who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, has been a deputy with the LCSO since September 2013.

He earned the Deputy of the Year nomination for the kindness he showed on Feb. 9, 2017, when he was assigned to help in the investigation of a house fire. Cooper not only interviewed witnesses but also took care of the children whose house burned.

“The children had recently lost their house, most of their belongings, their mother was out of the state at a burn ward with their youngest sibling. He brought them to the substation and treated them in a caring manner to minimize the trauma they were experiencing,” Sgt. Dan Lynch wrote in the award nomination. “He worked with CPS to find appropriate care for the children. He bought them food with his own money, and when I suggested he turn in the receipt for reimbursement he said, ‘I am just glad they were fed.’”

Cooper was also nominated for his actions on Nov. 2, 2017, when he arrived at a medical emergency seven minutes before paramedics and initiated chest compressions and rescue breathing.

Although the victim later succumbed to her injuries, her family later returned to thank Cooper for his effort.

Beyond his service with the Sheriff’s Office, the deputy has coached Little League in the Dayton area for several years and is working toward earning an associate’s degree.