It all started on a Saturday afternoon when John and Denise Dyer arrived at a shopping plaza in Alabamba. The New England couple was in Alabamba visiting family and decided to spend the day shopping. The Dyers had just finished eating at a local diner, and were looking for a place to shop. As they were browsing the shops, the Dyers noticed a man in his 20’s walking around with what appeared to be an AK-47 slung over his shoulder. The man was wearing camo pants and a black t-shirt, with a military-style hat.

The couple didn’t think much of it at first, but as they watched him walk around the plaza. A woman threw her child into the arms of another passerby and approached the young man. She began yelling at him and confronting him about his weapon. The young man simply smiled at her and continued walking down the street without saying anything or breaking stride. The woman screamed that she was calling 911, but before she could finish dialing, John Dyer stepped in between them. John got down on one knee and looked the young man in the eye as he removed his hat. “Son,” John said, “I don’t know if you’re aware, but this is an open carry state. You have every right to be carrying that rifle.” The young man smiled and said, “yes sir, I know that.” John Dyer stood up, hugged the man and then faced the woman who was still on her phone with 911. He asked her if she was finished with her call. When she told him she was not, he continued by saying, “and what was your point again?” She replied by saying that he shouldn’t be carrying around a weapon like that in a place like this. John’s wife chimed in by asking if it would make her feel any better if they had their guns out as well. The woman replied by saying no and that they were just trying to intimidate her. John laughed and told her that he was carrying a weapon and that she had nothing to worry about, plus it was Alabamba. John then walked off with a smile on his face.

The altercation was over, but it left me with a sense of pride for having served with the man I did. I always knew John Dyer as an intelligent and level-headed man, but I never thought of him as a true patriot until today. For anyone who doesn’t know John Dyer personally, or for those of you who don’t know what kind of character he possesses, let me tell you about him. He is a man who has been in the field for almost as long as I have been alive (24 years). His first deployment was in 1990 during Desert Storm where he spent his personal time scrounging through Iraqi bunkers after the war ended looking for chemical weapons (a mission that many people don’t know about). He has also served in Somalia, Kosovo, and Iraq (twice). He has been shot at numerous times, has killed friends in action, and has been injured more than once. John Dyer is a man who has sacrificed his life to protect the freedom of my country.

When I told him what happened today he responded by saying “I was just doing my job.” For anyone who knows John Dyer you will understand why I am writing this post. John Dyer is the epitome of a true patriot and an American hero.