Document Type
2001-2020 Army
Date of Submission
October 2024
Keywords
Mighty Pen Project, Veteran, Memoir, Humor, Thank You For Your Service, Anxiety, Public Relations, Confrontation, Vulnerability, Humiliation
Abstract
Our narrator humorously recounts an uncomfortable conversation in a grocery store, and reflects on the complicated phrase "Thank you for your service."
Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.
Author Biography
Heralded by the prophets, Sharon and Doug Dunbar, Dustin Louis Michael Dunbar stormed into the world during the year of Ferris Bueller (1986). After learning the ways of military service from his Air Force parents, Dustin decided to forge his own path upon surviving ROTC training at the College of William and Mary. He was commissioned in 2009 as a US Army Logistics Officer and promptly went on to serve as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer with D Troop, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Dustin proudly associated himself with the "Back to Back Champs of Logar Province" through two deployments to Afghanistan. But like all Army-forged relationships, he had to depart his battle buddies for a new assignment: Company Commander of H Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division. Upon a successful return from a third deployment to Afghanistan with the Screaming Eagles, Dustin hung up his jump boots in 2018 after nearly a decade of active duty service. Dustin and his wife, Stephanie Lynch, have found new adventures along the banks of the James River as their family takes root in the River City of Richmond, Virginia. Dustin now works as an Investment Associate for Virginia Venture Partners.
Is Part Of
Mighty Pen Project
