5.14.05 Dustins Family,
i am so sorry to hear about dustin. i dont really know
him but my cousin Michael is in the same platoon as
dustin. i know what you guys are going through i am
just hoping for the safe return on Michael.
Praying For all of you!
Paige Ruffner
5.14.05 Hey baby.. So yesterday was really hard...
I got the phone call from Ashley that I have been horrified
about receiving. I went to Cincinnati yesterday to be
with her and the Erdys. Everyone is so upset about the
two of you. But Mrs. Erdy was right when she said at
least you two are together. Then the more me and ash
thought about it we started to think you planned it.
Like if one had to go so would the other. That is one
of your sick jokes I could see you playing. I received
a letter yesterday from you.... baby I wish we moved
to Florida so you could wear your speedo to cut the
grass and fix the cars. I wouldnt have it any other
way then to be in Florida with you. Baby I miss you
so much.... and it is so hard here without your smiling
face. I wrote you a little something that I want to
share.....
" I told you I loved You
That wasnt a lie,
We Said it would last forever
And it would never die
Even though u had to leave me
my heart will stay true
my brave Marine in blue
not a day will go by
that I will not love you!"
Well baby im going to breakfast with your sister and
brandon.... I miss you and love you.... Kristi
5.14.05 To the Derga family and Kristen, I am a fellow
firefighter to Dustin, although I didn't know him all
that well, I did enjoy a couple of nights out with Dustin
and his good friend Chris Smith. From the times I was
out with Dustin, he was a great guy and a lot of fun
to be around. The honor and bravery he showed to our
country was second to none. May God be with the Derga
family and all other soldier's families in this time
of need. With much sympathy, Brett Bowen (Violet Township
Firefighters Local 3558)
5.13.05
Dustin,
It was such a shock to hear that you were gone. I couldn't
believe the news when I first heard it. It's a shame
that such a great life was lost. You were a great person
and you gave your life defending a wonderful country.
My family and I will always be greatful for the sacrifice
that you made for the freedom we love. My thoughts and
prayers go out to your family. GOD BLESS!! - Lee
5.13.05
Although we never met, I wanted to say Thank you Dustin,
you are a true hero for defending the USA. May the Lord
comfort your family, girlfriend & friends . God
Bless & Semper Fi - Cheryl ~ Sgt DeMers Girl
5.13.05 Dustin**
I still cant believe your gone. I'll never forget all
the great times we had. You helped make the last 2yrs
of high school fun and exciting. Remember News Years
99' at Chris's moms house....It seems like only yesterday.
I only wish we were closer during college......You were
a great friend that could make anyone laugh at anytime!!!.
My deepest sympathy goes out to the entire Derga family.
Dustin was a great guy who died for a great country......God
bless and God bless every other solider who has fallen
or is fighting to protect us - Tom Elke
5.13.05 In ways big and small,
your loved one's life changed our world
and left it a better place,
and touched to many hearts to ever be forgotten.
May it comfort you to know
that your loved one is now at peace!
*Dustin...you are truly a hero*
Brittany
5.13.05 Thank you for your bravery, and your sacrifice will
be rememberd. It is unforntunate to lose a fellow firefighter.
- Eric NTFD L1723
5.13.05 May God watch over all of you in your time of need.
I am sure you can see Dustin touched many many lives,
and was a proud Marine! He appeared to have many things
lined up in his young life but rest assured God has
better plans for him....He was a leader and he know
lives with the top Leader of our world. Always keep
the memories flowing within your hearts, and know He
is not gone from you, he will always live in your heart!!!
God Bless : Sandi
5.12.05 To Dustin's family and friends and most importantly
Kristin E... Although I didn't know Dustin very well,
I know he loved Kristin in a way only few of us will
ever experience. I know from the way she talked about
him that he was a great guy and one I would have been
so proud one day to say married my friend. I am so sorry
for Kristin and his family's loss... my thoughts and
prayers are with you and the rest of the Lima Co. families
always... Rest in Peace Dustin...
Ashley Ballard
5.12.05 Psalm 23:
"The Lord is my shepard; I shall not want. He makes
me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul; He leads me in the path of the
righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me;
your rod and your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before mein the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever."
Dustin,
Your home, your heart, and your mind were always open
to your friends. You lived not for the destination,
but the journey there. I think you're they only person
who enjoyed Chris and I's karaoke. I'll never forget
the times we spent at the bar, thinking of three word
Drink and Band names. The best ones were off the wall
names like, "Bowling for Alamony" and "Groaping
for Elmo". I Just want you know you are my hero
and, I am so proud of you. One more thing, You've Inspired
me, I think I'll call my Next drink "Heros in Heaven.
Your Friend
Joe R. Holland
Basil Joint Fire Dist.
5.12.05 sorry to lose a hero and brother firefighter. rest
in peace - kris--ntfd local 1723
5.12.05 Rest In Peace, brave Marine. Our thoughts and prayers
are with you and your family and friends. The 3/25 Marines
and their families are making the ultimate sacrifices
for peace and freedom. The world owes its thanks. We
give our honor and respect. - Jane & Bill
5.12.05 we are from logan ohio,and just want to say to dustins
family,girlfriend and friends that we are truely sorry
for your great loss.i sit here crying,and want to say
god bless all of you in you time of sorrow.and we are
very sorry for you loss.all the men and woman are true
heros, including dustin.you all will be in my thoughts
and prayers.,
charles and christie stivison
5.12.05 It has been four days
Since that first night.
Woken from a sleep so deep
To the tears of your lover
In search of your friend.
She spoke the words
I never thought I would hear,
"It's Dustin, he's been killed."
We all hoped it was a joke,
Another hoax of yours.
But when the realization set in,
We all flocked to your mom.
She is doing as is expected,
We are taking care of her.
Kristin and Kristin are strong,
And Brandon is the strength
They all depend on.
We sat out back reminiscing
Of the times not so long ago.
There has been so much support,
You would love the attention.
Although you would make fun,
We are all truly sad.
We miss you so much.
Rest in Peace my friend. - Brittany
5.12.05 We never met....you fought for all of us and we
love you....God stretched out his arms and welcomed
you home....May you rest in peace. - Mr. & Mrs.
M.E. Earhart
5.12.05 To Dustin,
Dustin i will never forget you. You were with me for
many of my fondest memories, which i will forever hold
onto. I may have not known you for the longest time,
but i feel as if you were one of my closest friends,
and i will always love you for that.
To Dustins Family,
I cant imagine what you are feeling right now, and i
wish i would have gotten to know you better so that
maybe i could provide more comfort, but i just want
you to know that dustin meant a great deal to many,
and had such a signifigant and wonderful impact on me
and my l ife that i will never forget him. he was a
brave soldier, and a great man.
Dan Martin
5.12.05 Dustin, I had three Marines show up at our front door the
other day. I knew before they said anything what had
happened. Its weird how just one sentence from a Marine
liaison can change your life forever. The feeling was
overwhelming. I just wanted to put my fist through the
wall and break down and cry. Then something came over
me and I knew that I couldn’t do that because
your mother and sister that were beside of me were feeling
my pain times ten.
It is so hard to go on. We were making plans for you
when you came home. How could this happen? All of these
thought s are going through our heads. I went to work
yesterday. Three days since we found out. It was the
first time I was away from your mother, sister, and
close friends since this happened. It’s so hard
to deal with other people’s problems when I have
problems on my own. I don’t see a future in police
work right now. I think I might look into doing something
else.
I want you to know that I will be here forever looking
after your family. The will always be safe under my
watch. I will need your guidance to help us get through
this. I was hoping to get your approval face to face
and to be accepted by you, but that wont happen now.
Your close friends have been over here the last three
nights to share thoughts of you and to be here for your
mother. The first night she was in bed for hours and
would not come out. When Chris came over it was like
a light shined down on her. At that point, I knew that
after time we are going to make it. She came out of
her room and started talking to your friends. She is
such a beautiful women and I hate to see her go through
this. She has told me that it is so nice to have everyone
over here. I hope when this is over they will still
come over and visit. She will need that. We all no that
this is what you would of wanted. I am going to end
this now. I will write you as much as I can to tell
you how things are going even though you can see us.
Please look over us. We all need your guidance.
WE ALL LOVE YOU AND WIIL ALWAYS REMEMBER.
YOUR FRIEND
BRANDON
5.12.05 Although my wife and I only met Dustin for a brief
time a few years ago, his dad and I have worked together
for several years and spoke many times about our sons
and the pride we both shared in their commitment. Rarely
did we have a conversation that didn’t somehow
end on the subject of Dustin or my son. Let that always
remain. There are no words that can ever remove the
pain of such a great loss, but maybe knowing Dustin
is in a better place will help to ease the burden. Dustin
and your sacrifice shall never be forgotten. Our thoughts
and prayers are with you and your family. God Bless.
Jim and Carol C.
5.12.05 To the friends and family of Dustin. I knew him
for several years at the unit and had the honor to be
his Fire Team leader most of that time. Know that he
was an outstanding Marine, who did not complain, and
who do anything for anyone. He will be missed by us
all. My thoughts and prayers go out to you.
Semper Fi
Holdren
5.12.05 I want to send my deepest condolences to the Derga
family and friends of Dustin. I served with Corporal
Derga in 1st platoon prior to their deployment and have
always thought highly of him. I hope you can take comfort
in knowing that he gave his life for his country while
doing what he knew was his duty. If you need anything,
feel free to write or call me and I will do whatever
I can. Thank you for your family’s sacrifice and
know that God is with you and so is Dustin. Semper FI!
Donny DeMent
(614)588-6826
5.11.05 Rest in peace, Dustin. - Cindy
5.11.05 Dustin: Though our pain may diminsh thru time, the
lasting thoughts of our all too brief time spent together
with you & Kristin will not fade. Her heart is broken...and
so is that of our family. We're now left with our memories
of you...from the fun of you teaching us all "how
to cook" at The Melting Pot to the pride and apprehension
that we each felt when you were deployed. To paraphrase
the quote on the webpage....you made a difference...in
our lives..and especially in Kristin's...for that, you
will always be remembered. Semper Fi.
Jackie, Terry, Laura, & Ashley
5.11.05 To the family of Dustin:
God be with you during this trying time. Our son Andrew
was very close to your son. Many of the pictures our
son is next to Dustin. Andrew is a quiet kid, but appreciates
a good sence of humor which he often said your son had.
It helped mine get through some rough times and I thank
you for that. Thank you also for sharing your son with
ours. We haven't heard from Andrew since April, but
I know he would want to let you know how important their
friendship was.
God Bless You
Ron and Suzy from Wisconsin-parents of Andrew
5.11.05 Dustin.... There is not a minute in the day that
I do not think about you.... I can't sleep, sometime
eat.... and I can't seem to keep myself from crying.
I think of all the wonderful times we shared together,
not a day with you was a bad one... even that drunken
day in Vegas!!! I wish we could of got our place or
moved to florida and done all the wonderful things we
were planning to do together... U were my strength and
joy... without you I have lost my lover and my best
friend. Your last phone call was was emotional when
u told me you couldnt wait to come home to everyone
and spend the rest of our lives together... it was like
all my dreams were finally going to come true... I finally
found the person that i wanted to spend the rest of
my life with. The person who would make me smile every
minute we were together and make every moment we had
special.... Even the New Years Eve kiss 10 mins after
the ball drop that no one would ever know it was late....
or the first time u told me you loved me.... our first
kiss... our story about the maid... we made so many
wonderful memories in such a short time... I just wish
we had more time to grow together and start the lives
together we both talked about... I will never forget
you and my love for you will never change.... cause
you were my world.... and I miss you so very much....
Love always... Kristin (girlfriend)
5.11.05
To Dustin's Family and friends,
I worked with Dustin at the fire department in Baltimore
a few years ago, and I wanted to write a few words about
Dustin and how he made my life better. I know these
words will fail in capturing Dustin's wonderful spirit
and the effect he had on other's, but I will try. When
I heard the terrible news Sunday afternoon, I couldn't
believe what had happened. I didn't know Dustin very
well outside of the fire department. But, I got to know
him well enough to understand that he was a wonderful
person. He cared so much for others, and all he wanted
to do was to help those who were less fortunate than
he, whether that be through the Fire Service or through
Military Service. I'll always remember the conversation
we had one day at the fire house when he was showing
me his military equipment and backpack. He made it clear
that he was really proud of his service to this great
nation, and I want to thank Dustin for that. I'm so
very sorry for Dustin's family and friends. I can only
hope that the knowledge that Dustin is now in a much
better place with his Father, smiling down on all of
us, helps to ease the pain of his loss just a little.
I am thankful to have gotten to know such a true Hero,
even if it was only for a short time. Thank you Dustin
for all you've done, we're so proud of you. We will
all miss you greatly, but you will always be in our
minds and in our hearts. I'll see you soon in our Father's
Heaven, and then we'll have a big hug and a smile, and
I can thank you in person for enriching my life with
your presence and friendship.
With Love,
Kevin Strawser / Basil Joint Fire Department
John 15:12-13
"This is My commandment, That ye love one another,
as I have loved you. Greater love have no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends."
5.11.05
To Dustin:
It is so unbelievable to us that you are gone. Like
everyone else has been doing, we have been remembering
the times you spent with our family. Our favorites are
your "Forrest Gump" wave and the way you could
watch "Old School" over and over and laugh
as if you had never seen it (sorry you never got that
green hat for Christmas).There are very few memories
we have discussed that we haven't laughed and said "Dustin
- he was such a goofball." We are so glad that
you were a part of our lives, Dustin. Thank you for
doing what you were doing. You are our hero and will
be missed by us all....Love from the McCall family
5.11.05
There are so many great times and memories that we all
have shared with you Dustin. My only wish is that we
could have had even more. You were an incredible friend,
person, and a brave soldier. There is no measure for
the pride that we felt for you or the pain that is hear
with us now. You will never be forgotten my fallen friend.
I only hope your family can find the strength to get
past this tragedy. With love, Brian Vargo
5.11.05
Even though are last names were different he was like
a brother to me - Tristan Dunlap
5.11.05
Dustin........I can't believe you're really gone. I
was shocked and heartbroken when I heard. It still hasn't
set in. I'm so incredibly proud of you. You are so brave.
You will never be forgotten. I am very fond of the memories
I have of you. So many good times we've shared. I remember
back to the early days riding bikes, fishing at Mallard
Pond. Those were the days. It was so much easier back
then, but I guess it's all a part of growing up. I'm
so thankful we were able to go to Cancun. Those are
times I'll never forget as well. It seems like everything
I see or do reminds me of you. Whether it's hearing
some Lynyrd Skynrd on the radio or driving by Genji's.
We're all trying to stay strong. Everybody is taking
it rough. You'll always be remembered as a hero. Best
friend......Chris Smith
5.10.05
To the family & friends of Dustin:
I worked with Dustin at ISG CPC, and even though I didnt
get the chance to "get to know him" what I
did know of him will bring a smile to my face. We didnt
talk a whole lot, but once in a while, he would come
up to me and say " do you have coconut candles
yet? I love that smell". haahaa, and I always had
to tell him " no.. not yet." and then he's
say "well... you need to get some". and he's
walk away. In the time that Dustin was away from work,
I did get a coconut candle scent, and was planning on
handing it to him when he came through the breakroom
doors... Which brings me to this.. The co workers of
Dustin want you to know that he will not be forgotten
at CPC, and that we sympathize with you and your family.
We lost a friend, but you all lost so much more. You,
his family are in our thoughts and our prayers.
May God hold you in his arms in this time of grief,
and help you to remember the wonderful, funny, loving
son that he has taken home to be with him.
R.Guisinger. ISG CPC
5.10.05
My heart breaks for the Derga family. I am so sorry.
Our son and sailor, Michael was a schoolmate of Dustin's.
I just told him and he is heartbroken. May God be with
you. -Linda
5.10.05
I just heard this morning about Dustin's death. I am
so sorry for your loss. I knew him for several years,
both at Lima company and when he worked at the hospital.
I wish there were something I could do to make your
pain easier to bear. I am still a bit in disbelief and
angry with those terrorists who took his life. My words
feel so hollow, so I'll just end with this. Dustin was
a moral, conscientious and friendly person, a good Marine.
I will miss him. The Marine Corps will miss him. My
prayers are with you and the rest of the Lima Company
families. God Bless. -Doc McKelvey