Joliet veteran ‘can’t do enough for veterans’

Dan Miller, 55, of Joliet actively serves three veteran-related organizations – and two were absolutely lifesaving for him.

He speaks on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project and K9s for Veterans. Miller also is on the board of directors for K9s for Veterans and the Forgotten Warrior Memorial.

In addition, Miller is a member of the Chicago Police Marine Corps League as a former Marine (five years active duty and 25 years in the reserves) and a police officer for 24 years “on the civilian side,” he said.

Miller said he was deployed numerous times – including Desert Storm and twice with Operation Iraqi Freedom. Miller said he was hurt in Iraq in 2004 and subsequently diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. He also has post-traumatic stress disorder, which he believes stems from numerous deployments.

But Miller can’t imagine not serving in some way.

“My mother raised me on her own in Chicago. Dad wasn’t around,” Miller said. “My mother raised me with the idea of serving others before myself.”

Michael Tellerino of Plainfield, a U.S. Army veteran and founder of K9s for Veterans and the Forgotten Warrior Memorial, said Miller is “an all-around good guy who can’t do enough for veterans.”

“He’s very sincere and puts the veterans first,” Tellerino said. “I can’t say enough good about that man.”

Wounded Warrior Project

Miller said he struggled with his PTSD diagnosis, especially since a huge stigma still surrounds PTSD, including a misconception that people with it are dangerous in a “Rambo” type of way.

At the same time, Miller was overwhelmed with emotions he didn’t understand or could communicate, he said.

“One of the symptoms of PTSD is isolation, and I got good at that,” Miller said. “I was isolating myself from my own family. I had my police job, and I was working three side jobs on my days off so I wouldn’t have to be home and not deal with the family.”

The Wounded Warrior Project helped Miller to understand that PTSD is treatable and “helped me when I needed it,” which kept him from suicide, he said.

“I did end up in my car with my service weapon from work,” Miller said. “I was going to end my life, but I didn’t do it. The reason why I didn’t do it is because I had gone to a Wounded Warrior event and met some other veterans. I realized I wasn’t alone in my struggles.”

K9s for Veterans

Through meeting these veterans in the Wound Warrior Project, Miller connected with K9s for Veterans. Miller’s service dog Rocky, a king shepherd, was only a year old when the veteran received him in 2021.

Rocky travels with him across the U.S. when he speaks on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project. Rocky helps him through anxiety and depression and can sense when he’s agitated, stressed or upset, Miller said.

“Through his training, Rocky can sense when I’m having a hard time,” Miller said. “He might lick my hand or nudge me or whimper. Or he might playfully nibble on my arm … he wants me to pay attention to him, and he wants me to know he’s there. It makes me change my thinking process and concentrate on him.”

Miller said he’s been relatively seizure-free for some time. But should a seizure occur, Rocky will get between Miller and the floor or lie beside him, Miller said.

“Luckily, I’ve only had one since I’ve had him, and he performed very well,” Miller said. “He just laid down right next to me while I was going through it, and it was such a comfort to me.”

Forgotten Warrior Memorial

Miller said he’s lost 16 fellow servicemen to suicide. His involvement with K9s for Veterans led him to the Forgotten Warrior Memorial in Channahon since Tellerino founded both nonprofits.

Tellerino previously said the Forgotten Warrior Memorial is a way to honor veterans who died as a direct result of their PTSD.

My mother raised me with the idea of serving others before myself.”

—  Dan Miller, Joliet resident and a member of four veterans organizations

“We just want people to come out and honor these families, to let them know [their service] was appreciated, that their loss meant something to somebody,” Tellerino previously said.

The names of those veterans are engraved into the granite stone representing their branch of service at the memorial. The veterans’ names also are listed on the Forgotten Warrior Memorial website at theforgottenwarriormemorial.org.

Miller said the memorial services that the Forgotten Warrior Memorial periodically holds help give families closure.

He said the military does a wonderful job of training people to be warriors focused on a mission, but when they leave, the military doesn’t teach them how to “turn it off.”

“So, then they get out and they get lost really fast,” Miller said.

That’s why Miller feels veterans should volunteer their time with causes that resonate with them.

“By veterans giving back and getting involved with things, they’re helping others,” he said. “Now you have a mission again and you have a purpose – a reason for getting up every day.”