Dustin Mayer is a U.S. Marine veteran, who served two years in the military. A Warsaw resident, Mayer is on a mission to prevent veteran suicides. InkFreeNews photo by Phoebe Muthart
WARSAW — Dustin Mayer is on a mission. Not exactly like one when he was in the US Marines. But it’s a different mission: a mission to save the lives of fellow veterans.
A Goshen native, Mayer lives in Warsaw with his family. He graduated from Whitko High School in 1993. Both of his grandfathers served in the military. His mother’s father was a World War II veteran and his father’s father, Bill, was a Korean War veteran.
“I wanted to follow in their footsteps,” said Mayer, who initially wanted to enlist in the US Air Force.
However, shortly after high school, Mayer enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1993. Following 13 weeks of boot camp, he was sent to Albany, Ga., for supply mission of service school.
After school, Mayer was sent to a Marine base in Okinawa, Japan, a country he wanted to visit. Mayer said you have to choose a tour oversees and he chose Japan, where he was stationed for nine months.
While in Japan, he was attached to the 3rd Battalion, an infantry battalion, and 3rd Force Service Support Group.
“All I did was load and unload ships,” Mayer said of his assignments. “The ships were for deployment and I loaded submarines, too.”
Jokingly, he added, “Often I was at the ‘motor pool’ and that’s where we serviced a lot of our vehicles.”
The best part about being stationed in Okinawa, Japan, was the memories of being on the island, he recalled.
Being on an island, Mayer said, “There’s a lot to see and do. In the Pacific Ocean, you can see coral reefs and the culture is so much different.”
Mayer said he thinks that the men and women serving there are under-appreciated. “They are really helping a lot,” he noted.
While in Okinawa, however, Mayer seriously hurt his back.
“I injured my back, and I was given an honorable medical discharge,” he noted.
Mayer was discharged in 1995. He married, had two children and worked various jobs. After looking for another job, Mayer followed one of his grandfather’s footsteps by becoming a milkman in 2004. He delivered milk for 11 years until 2015.
After a series of ongoing health issues, he is now permanently disabled. He suffered a major heart attack in January 2018. He was engaged at the time to a nurse named Amy and, he said, “She saved my life.”
Today, Mayer’s current mission is to help save the lives of veterans, who are thinking about committing suicide.
“Twenty-two veterans in the U.S. die each day by suicide,” he said. “But that (suicide) is not the answer.”
Mayer is helping to spread the message of The TIL Valhalla project, established in 2017 by Korey Shaffer, a struggling U.S. Marine veteran. The project aims to bring awareness to veteran suicide. Shaffer, according to his website, has always said, “A hero never dies until their name is spoken for the last time.”
For more information about The TIL Valhalla project, visit www.tilvalhallaproject.com.
As for Veterans Day, Mayer, 45, said, “It’s a way to honor those who have sacrificed. It’s not about me; it’s about thinking of my brothers and sisters.”
Mayer has been married to his wife, Amy, since April 2018, and he has two daughters, Cassandra, 21, and Breana 19. In his spare time, Mayer enjoys going to the YMCA in Warsaw, where, he said with a smile, “everybody knows me.”
Dustin Mayer is a U.S. Marine veteran, who served two years in the military. Mayer is pictured holding his grandfather’s flag, given to Mayer when his late grandfather, Bill Mayer, was buried Nov. 11, 2004. InkFreeNews photo by Phoebe Muthart
Dustin Mayer of Warsaw joined the United States Marine Corps in 1993. Photo provided