INTHEIROWNWORDS
AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER2015
105
Doyouhaveastory to tellourcustomers?
mentofNewYork (FDNY),Patriot
GuardRidersandothermilitary
serviceorganizations.OADsupports
events towelcomehomemilitary
membersafter toursofduty, aswell
asHonorFlightsandMedalofHonor
flight charters.
OurOADvolunteerssupport
numerousmilitaryandveterans
initiatives.Everyyear,weworkwith
OperationMilitaryEmbrace (www
.operationmilitaryembrace.org) to
facilitateOperationFreePX to the
troopsstationedatBrookeArmyMed-
icalCenter inTexas.Donatedgoods
fromacross thecountryareflown to
SanAntonioonAmericanAirlines
flights throughout theyearandstored
inaclimate-controlled facility. InDe-
cember,militarymembersare invited
toanall-day, freeshoppingspree.
AnOADhighlight for
meeachyear isassisting
with theLongBeach
WaterfrontWarriors
(LBWW):www.lbwater
frontwarriors.org.This
year,wehostedabout30
woundedwarriorsand
their families foraweek
of vacationrighthere in
myhometown.Guests
enjoyedswimming, surf-
ing, baseball games, lunch
with theFDNY, a trip to
the9/11memorial andaprivatefishing
trip.Twoyachtclubsdonated their
boatsandcaptains for theevent, and
theguestsenjoyedrelaxationwhile
recuperating from their injuries.My
vacation thisyear—andeveryyear—
ishosting thesemenandwomenand
volunteeringwith theLBWW.
Ialsoproudlysupportourcompa-
ny’sFuelSmartpartnershipwithAir
Compassion forVeterans (ACV)www
.aircompassionforveterans.org.For
everygallonof fuel savedatAmerican
Airlines, aportionof thesavings is
donated toACV,whichprovides travel
andrelatedexpenses forveterans
getting toand frommedical appoint-
ments. I’mproud toworkwithsomany
patrioticcolleaguesand foracompany
that supportsourveteransandmy
volunteerism in thecommunity.
W
hen Iwasborn, itwas into
thearmsof the localfire
chief, andmywelcoming
committeewas thePointLookout-Lido
FireDepartment.Perhaps thisearly
exposure iswhat’salwayskeptme
involvedasafirefighter.And the fact
thatmydadservedasafirechief and
myolder, twinbrothersarevolunteers.
One isanemergencymedical techni-
cian (EMT)and theother iscaptainof
anenginecompany.
Asachild, I recall sitting inmy
father’scar forwhat seemed likehours
asheresponded toemergencies. I
madeupmymind then that Iwas
going to learna lotanddowhatever it
took tohelp—and toavoidsittingon
thesidelines. So, aftera fewyears in
theU.S.AirForce, I returnedhome to
PointLookout,NewYork, and imme-
diately joined thefiredepartmentasa
volunteer. I’mnowenteringmy30th
yearasaClassA interiorfirefighter.
Mysons, ages21and26, arealsoboth
firefighters.
Afterserving in themilitary, Ibrief-
lyworkedatanaerospacecompanyon
theflight line inBethpage,NewYork.
Whenmywifeand Iwereexpecting
ourfirst child, Ibecamea linemainte-
nancemechanic forAmericanAirlines.
Myaircraftmaintenancecareerhas
providedme theability topursuenot
onlymypassion forfirefighting, but it’s
alsoallowedmecountlessways togive
back to thecommunity—particularly
toourveterans. I’mashopsteward
for theTransportWorkersUnionand
chairmanof theTransportWorkers
UnionVeteransCommittee.
Ialsochairagroupof areaairport
volunteerscalledOurAmericanDuty
(OAD).OADstartedwithAmerican
Airlinesemployeesbutnowhasvol-
unteers fromotherairlines, thePort
AuthorityofNewYorkandNewJersey
PoliceDepartment, theFireDepart-
A
LIFE
OF
SERVICE
PeterMeyer’sheart forveteranshas ledhim
tosupport them innumerous initiatives.
Name:
PETEMEYER
Job:
AIRCRAFTMECHANIC
City:
NEWYORK, N.Y.
Years at American
Airlines: 27
PeteMeyer (middle in
both images)proudly
servesasavolunteer
firefighter.
