Purple heart recipient dies saving 3-year-old granddaughter

Zackry Colston
Apr 29, 2020 3:55 PM PDT
1 minute read
Vietnam War photo

SUMMARY

A purple heart recipient and Vietnam war veteran, Dan Osteen, 69, sacrificed his life saving his 3-year-old granddaughter after the Oklahoma house they were in exploded.

A purple heart recipient and Vietnam war veteran, Dan Osteen, 69, sacrificed his life saving his 3-year-old granddaughter after the Oklahoma house they were in exploded.


Dan Osteen, 69, with granddaughter Paetyn, 3.

Dan Osteen's son, Brendon, says his father looked forward to every single moment he could spend with his granddaughter, "That's what he was first and foremost I mean he was all about that baby and she was all about him."

On Sept. 19, Brendon said his father was lighting a candle next to the stove, when there was a powerful propane gas explosion. Brendon spoke to the immediate selflessness about his father's actions, "He wasn't worried about himself at all. I'll leave it at that, but save [to] her was the message he was trying to get across and he did exactly that."

Osteen suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, and severe burns when the blast ripped through the house. Against all odds, he was able to carry his granddaughter out of the explosion into safety—going so far as to traverse a steep driveway that winds over a quarter mile through the woods, with his sustained injuries.

[facebook https://www.facebook.com/brendon.osteen1/posts/2737619939583829 expand=1]Brendon Osteen

www.facebook.com

"He just got out of the house and headed straight to where he knew help was. He tried to get in his truck and his keys were melted to him. His phone was exploded in his pocket" Brendon said.

Don's wife was the first to make it to the scene. There she found the pair in the front pasture of the family's property, where Don had laid Paetyn in the shade. Brendon said that before he died, Osteen told his wife, Brendon's mother, that the roof had fallen on top of Paetyn. Miraculously he was able to recover Pateyn and return her to safety, where she was treated for burns on 30% of her body.

Dan Osteen passed away from a heart attack during emergency surgery after spending days fighting for his life. "He was a man set in his faith and he knew where he was going" Brendon added. "He knew that he did his job by saving the life of his Boo Boo Chicken," he said. "He loved my daughter beyond unconditionally. And he gave it all for her to live."

Brendon said the Oklahoma house belonged to his parents and brother. The house, along with all their belongings, were destroyed.

Osteen was an Army veteran who received a purple heart from a grenade explosion in Vietnam. He was a man of service to others, who paid the ultimate price to save his granddaughter. A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family.

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