We Will Never Forget: A UM Alum and Army Veteran's Mission
Retired Army Colonel PJ Dermer (2nd from right in bottom row) and the TERRA Search team on a mission in Sicily. Photo courtesy of PJ Dermer.
University of Montana alumnus PJ Dermer knows the sacrifices that come with serving your country. Dermer entered the military as a high school dropout in the Vietnam era. That started him on a decades-long journey – one that has recently taken on new meaning in retirement.
Dermer credits the military with advancing his education and career, starting with his high school diploma when he first enlisted. After his first stint with the Army, Dermer wasn’t sure what his next steps would be. He moved back home to the East Coast and began thinking about college – specifically out west. He applied to UM and was admitted. His younger brother already was planning to attend UM to study forestry, so the two set out together to their new home in Missoula.
At UM, Dermer joined ROTC and set himself up for a career rising through the ranks of the military. “I consider that a life-changing life-defining moment, having gone to Montana,” Dermer said. He left Missoula in 1982, and shortly after he began training in military intelligence and aviation. More than 30 years later, he retired as an Army colonel, having also served as a foreign area officer in the Middle East.
After leaving the military, Dermer spent time as a national security consultant. When his wife was relocated to Thailand, Dermer moved across the globe in service of his country once again, this time as a spouse.
Unable to continue his security work while abroad, Dermer was looking for something to occupy his time when he learned about the military’s operations to recover soldier remains in the region.
“I went in and saw all of the pictures on the wall of the recovery missions in southeast Asia-– dirt and hats and muck– and I thought hey that looks pretty cool, maybe I could do that part-time,” Dermer said. “And I was told no.”
The U.S. military does not allow volunteers to participate in any part of their recovery missions, so Dermer began looking for other ways to get involved. On a visit to Tarawa, a historic WWII battle site in the South Pacific, he came into contact with a nongovernmental organization conducting its own recovery efforts. Dermer was able to learn more about the process and became dedicated to the mission.
Things came to a halt in 2020, when the pandemic made travel to the recovery sites impossible. Dermer was frustrated with the lack of progress in getting missions back up and running, and he missed being out in the field.
“My friends said, ‘Why don’t you start your own if you love it so much?’” he said.
That’s exactly what he did. Dermer got to work forming TERRA Search, an organization dedicated to POW/MIA recovery, without a lot of the military red tape he encountered while trying to volunteer. In fact, Dermer’s goal was to make the recovery missions as accessible as possible, especially to other veterans.
“Open it to the veteran community, families, supporters,” he said. “What other community would be more interested in this? We have the most skin in the game.”
Dermer believes the military carries a responsibility to bring these fallen service members home, even when there may not be any close family behind to remember them, as is the case for many WWI soldiers.
“We have a motto – the department of defense– we will never forget. We will never forget,” he said. “That’s what we hope to maintain.”
TERRA Search is operating on a start-up scale now, but Dermer hopes to change that in the near future. He wants to create full-time permanent positions to support the organization in year-round operations.
“We’d like to professionalize this,” Dermer said. “That doesn’t mean you’re in the field 365 days a year. There’s a research component, there's a historical component and we’re happy to participate in all elements.”
Next year, TERRA Search has field missions planned in England and Germany. In the meantime, Dermer is busy spreading awareness about the organization and encouraging interested veterans to get involved.
“You really reap other benefits. We sleep great, we laugh a lot, we work hard” he said. “It’s a serious mission, we're not clowning around but there’s nothing wrong with having fun.”