The Village of St. Joseph has not forgotten about those who have served.
Dustin Leemon, a 33-year old Champaign native, whose mother, Barbara, has lived in St. Joseph for over a decade will be honored for his service at the St. Joseph Sports Complex Veterans Memorial Plaza on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.
Leemon enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2007 after his best friend joined in 2006. He was taking classes at Parkland College, thinking about a career in law enforcement when he decided to just show up at the recruiting center.
“I never consulted my parents or anything,” he said. “I wasn’t really sure what direction I wanted to go and I knew I wanted to be in law enforcement. It just made sense. It seemed like a good step.”
It was a short two months before he left for boot camp in San Diego on Mother’s Day.
Leemon returned home by August, joining the 6th Engineer Support Battalion out of Peoria. While he focused on finishing out his education at Parkland and working full-time, he was also required to train in Peoria for one weekend a month as part of the Marine Corps Reserves.
Leemon went on to continue his military training in North Carolina where he became a Combat Engineer, specializing in, among other things, demolitions and mine clearing techniques.
In Nov. 2009, he received orders to support the 7th Engineer Support Battalion who would deploy to the Helmand Province in Afghanistan, near the border of Pakistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
During this deployment, he was tasked with convoy security as a machine gunner, and along with his unit, completed approximately 120 re-supply missions to various outposts in the region. Leemon returned state-side in July of 2010.
Once home, he worked as a corrections officer at the Champaign County Corrections Center until he moved to Colorado with his wife in May of 2011. The remainder of his active service was finished at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado in 2013.
Although Leemon served in the military, he still feels like there is more that he can do for his country. His only relative to serve in the military was his grandfather, who fought in WWII.
“I feel like this is the least that I can do to give back to the country that has given me so much,” he said. “I just did it out of pride of country. Once I made the decision to join, I kind of just felt like it was what I should be doing.”
Being part of something that was bigger than himself, Leemon took away the qualities of honor, courage and commitment and reapplied them to his personal and professional life.
Leemon now works as a Senior Privacy Operations Manager at Charles Schwab where he is also a co-chair of the Military Veterans Network.
With about 300 people in Colorado’s Military Veterans Network Leemon works to find organizations that tailor their services to veteran-specific causes, whether it’s an event, resources, or fundraiser, in the area.
“That’s kind of one of the ways that I stayed involved with the veterans’ community,” he said.
The brotherhood that is formed during a time of service, whether in training or combat, is one that Leemon said you can’t find anywhere else.
“These are people that you train with, that you go to combat with, they could very well be the last people that you see when you deploy,” he said. “It’s kind of grim to think about it, but at the same token, they’re the ones that I was closest with. If anything were to happen to me, unfortunately, overseas, they were the ones that were going to have my back, be able to protect me, and kind of keep me sane.”
Since being honorably discharged in January of 2015, Leemon said that he’s searched for the camaraderie that is found within the military.
“I haven’t been able to find it,” he said. “It’s something that can’t be replicated.”
But by giving back to those who have served and to those who need an extra boost is just a step towards finding some of that connection.
Each year, Leemon coordinates the Marine Corps Toys for Tots event in Colorado. Over four years, they have brought in over 2000 toys, ensuring that children have something under their tree on Christmas morning.
“For the Marines, (Toys for Tots) is like their bread and butter for the holiday season,” Leemon said. “And it’s just one of those nice things we can do to give back.”
The St. Joseph community, led by St. Joseph-Stanton fireman Dan Davis, wants to give back to Leemon by honoring him with a Military Service Street Sign for his service to the community and the United States of America.
“I don’t deserve all of this, to be honest,” Leemon said. “Dan has gone above and beyond to bring all the pieces together between getting the sign and just kind of organizing the whole thing with the mayor of St. Joe. I owe a lot of this event to Dan.
“At the end of the day, I’m just one person that’s been in the military,” he said. “St. Joe has hundreds and thousands of people that have served as well. I’ve always been Kind of a humble person so I don’t really know how to accept this.
“But at the same time, I’m very very appreciative of the city and all the people that are involved with it.
“St. Joe does a great job honoring servicemen and women and I am proud to be a part of that.”
Leemon will arrive for the Labor Day weekend to visit his mom and dad, Joseph, who still lives in Champaign. He will be joined by his youngest brother, a St. Joseph resident, and middle brother, who is coming from Nashville.
“It’s rare that we all get together at the same time,” Leemon said.
“We’re just trying to make the most of it throughout the entire weekend.”
Leemon said the military reinforced what he learned at home: honesty, humility and service. That foundation his parents laid for him led him to where he is today.
“A big thank you to my family for kind of sticking with me,” he said.
“And a special thanks to my mom; even though I left on Mother’s Day, she doesn’t hold it against me.”
Leemon knows about the benefits of staying connected, and he is thankful that his family is close enough to do that. But, he also always keeps in mind Veterans who do not have a support system and may fall through the cracks.
“Not everybody comes home the same way they left,” he said. “It’s important to bring awareness to just kind of what we have veterans have been through.”
St. Joseph’s commitment to honoring Veterans is one step to let them know that they have not been forgotten.
“That’s just one way that to kind of show that the village you know really cares for its residents and the people that have served,” he said.
Leemon also encourages Americans to take time to say hello to Veterans, to call them from time-to-time or to send them an encouraging message.
With 22 veteran suicides a day, Leemon said that a phone call, a simple message of hello, is a great way to begin.
“Mental health is a big part of it,” he said. “It’s an area we need to do better on. All they really need is just somebody to talk to you a lot of times.”
Here are just a few ways that you can connect with Veteran organizations locally and nationally:
American Legion Post #634, St Joseph, IL
Homer American Legion Auxiliary
