TEXAS 'LONE SOLDIER' IN THE IDF

Texas model Megan Daniels is fighting on Israel's front lines after completing basic training days before Hamas launched its attack that killed more than 1,400

Megan Daniels, 19, is a Dallas-area model who delayed college to join Israel Defense Forces. The Texan is considered a 'Lone Solider' meaning she has no family in Israel to support her

 

By Maryann Martinez 

 

Daily Mail

Oct 30, 2023

Megan Daniels, 19, from Dallas, was in Tel Aviv and had just completed basic training with IDF when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7

 

A teenage model from the Dallas area is the latest American who will soon head to the front lines to fight in Israel's war against Hamas. 

In this case, Megan Daniels, 19, finished her basic training just days before Hamas launched a massive attack against Israel and killed 1,400. Now, Israeli forces are awaiting an invasion of Gaza in response to the terrorist actions. 

Daniels, 19, is in Israel awaiting her assignment and is one of 21 so-called 'Lone soldiers' - a member of the IDF with no family in Israel to support them- who typically call Texas home, according to WFAA.

When Daniels recently graduated from Parish Episcopal School in Plano, Texas, she put off going to college to go to Israel.

'Megan, I think, hatched this plan when she was on a visit to Israel in middle school,' her father, Eddie Daniels, told KXAS. 

 

Prior to joining the IDF, Daniels has been a model for Matriarch Model Management. Daniels parents describe their daughter as a normal kid, going to prom and graduating from high school before enlisting

 

'She wanted to be a part of supporting Israel in the way that she thought was best and that was joining the IDF.'

When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the dual American-Israeli citizen was on duty in Tel Aviv. She had just completed her basic training days before the onslaught. 

'We are terrified, and she is scared, because you never anticipate something of this scale happening,' her mother, Taryn, shared with WFAA. 

'Her strength and her determination and commitment to this is astounding, she’s a lot braver and stronger than I am.'

Over the last few months, the model-turned-solider has given small glimpses of her time in Israel through social media posts. Listed as a model with Matriarch Model Management, Daniels' Instagram account is filled with bikini-clad and glamorous snaps of the brunette. 

In one TikTok video, she jokes that she was sent home from the army on her first day.

 

Daniels, 19, is in Israel awaiting her assignment and is one of 21 so-called 'Lone soldiers' who typically call Texas home

Aside from modeling, her parents say their daughter was a cheerleader in school

'Her strength and her determination and commitment to this is astounding, she’s a lot braver and stronger than I am,' her parents said

 

Despite being half a world away, support from back home has made its way to her.

'My daughter did ask me to share with you specifically that everyone in Israel has seen that image of the Dallas skyline has been going around and they’re all so touched by the support they’re getting from America,' her mom explained.

The images of a blue and white Dallas skyline in solidarity with Israel were seen and cherished by Daniels. 

Meanwhile, her parents and friends have been raising funds for members of the IDF like Megan. 

Any money collected will go to Friends of the IDF for field hospitals, armored ambulances, medical supplies, plasma and hygiene kits.

'A lot of us think, had I been alive when the Holocaust happened, I would’ve done something,' Eddy stated. 

'Well, she’s in Israel, and she can do something now. About really the greatest threat to Judaism since the Nazis.'