Mother of Warwick native and Army officer killed in Black Hawk crash authors book

Army Ofc. Danny Prial, was 30 years old in 2021 when the Warwick native and pilot died in a Black Hawk training accident upstate.

Blaise Gomez

Feb 17, 2023, 10:51 PM

Updated 678 days ago

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Anne Prial’s home is full of family photos and memories. 
“You look at pictures, and then you look at pictures again and they’re the same pictures. There’re no new ones,” said the grieving mother. 
Her son, Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Danny Prial, was 30 years old in 2021 when the Warwick native and pilot died in a Black Hawk training accident upstate. 
Two other service members on board were also killed in the crash. 
“After he died, so many letters, cards, notes and stories came in from people that we knew and didn’t know, and I just wanted to capture them,” said Prial. 
The Army officer’s mother put those letters in a biography she wrote about Danny titled “The Fullest Measure.” 
“That really describes Danny. He did everything 110%.” 
Prial graduated from Warwick in 2008 and then West Point in 2012.  
He was active duty for eight years, served in Afghanistan and was in the Army National Guard when he died. 
His mother says Danny touched so many people during those years and hopes the book is a way to keep his memory alive. 
“It’s really comforting to us that people say his name,” said Prial. 
She says a letter published in the book that Danny wrote to a cousin after a family loss has provided solace to their family since his passing. 
“’Only a fool would try to speculate on why things like this happen. But in the face of such tragedy, I refuse to search for anything but positive,’” Prial read aloud. “I read that because he looked for positive in everything and ironically, his own words comfort us.” 
“The Fullest Measure” is available on Amazon and at the Warwick Public Library.