BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — A life of service is a life of sacrifice, but in sacrifice, service members can often find identity and purpose for something much bigger than themselves. In the military, he was known by many names, including Rabbit's Foot, Varsity, and Sergeant Awesome, but for the sake of this story, you can just call him Kyle. Kyle D'amato. And D'amato is the walking definition of a life of service. "I think that who I have become is because of the military and my service," D'amato said. D'amato was born in northern California to a turbulent marriage. His parents eventually separated, and that's when D'amato's life as the quintessential rolling stone began. His stepfather was an aircraft mechanic and then a pilot. D'amato moved to Hawaii at the age of 10, and then to Guam two years later. "Moving around that much kind of, it kind of taught me to be alone and kind of how to separate one part of my life from others," explained D'amato. Spending the majority of his adolescence in Guam, D'amato lived like a Neverland Lost Boy on the little US territory. He excelled in sports and got his scuba diving license, where he quite literally dived into the depths of Guam's war history with numerous sunken warships scattered around the island, and it turns out that he found more purpose underwater than on land because Guam's rich war history inspired his interest in the armed forces. "All these things kind of pumped me up a little bit more to be able to put my part and my mark on history," D'amato recalled. And that interest was solidified on September 11th, 2001. After returning back to California, a recruiter reached out to him. "He's like, hey, you qualify for several things, here's your list, what do you wanna do? And I think, I think my exact answer was, 'If I'm going to do this, I'm going to kick someone in the teeth,'" said D'amato. And although he didn't quite know where, since he was unassigned, he said that mystery was alluring to him. "Back then, you were an 11-Xray, right? Like an 11-Bravo is infantry. But 11-xray is infantry unassigned, so you don't know if you're going to end up on Bradleys or in a dragon unit or as a mortar man, or what. So that was kind of an exciting thing to, you know, that he was able to sell to me," said D'amato. He received basic training for mechanized infantry at what was known then as Fort Hood in Texas. In 2002, he was deployed to Iraq, where he fought in the battles of Najaf and Fallujah. And that's where D'amato shined, volunteering for anything he could keep his hands on for a very good reason. "I started to look at myself more as uh, someone who could put myself in dangerous ways, so guys who had families, were married with kids didn't have to. So I did a lot of volunteering. Myself and another guy as well. We did a lot of volunteering of the stupid stuff. Like hey, the Bradleys are gonna drop food and water, we need someone to go get it. It's really dangerous. You can't take your weapons. You're gonna strip all your gear and run as fast as you can. Go get the stuff and bring it behind the walls. And so, we would do that," he said. Veterans Voices: Shaun Lewellyn But D'amato's selflessness was forged from the friendships he formed. "The army, specifically the infantry, because we are all trained to put our lives on the line firsthand. Um, the joke is that we are the largest fraternity in the world. And we're like Lost Boys, we never grow up," D'amato explained. He deployed to Iraq again in 2009 after working in recruiting in Boston. During that time, he suffered an asthma attack, and was faced with the very real question of whether he should medically retire, but there was a special something that kept him there. "Every time I'd get close to getting out, I would have to take that thought process and if I leave, who's going to take this position? Who's going to train these guys? Who's going to take care of them?" he recalled. So back to work he went, spending time in Fort Bliss and Fort Campbell before he was deployed to Syria in 2018. By that time, D'amato was feeling that the natural length of his military career was coming to an end. So he finished his career full circle, working for the US Army Pacific Command in none other than Hawaii, one of his childhood homes. And on March 1, 2022, he officially retired, ready to enter the civilian world. "The tools that were put into my toolbox by the military, I can take that toolbox into a civilian scenario as I'm doing here. And with, my partners and I make a successful run at a business in the community, you know, where we're doing a service to our community," D'amato said. D'amato is now the owner and partner of two Arrowhead Cleaners and Laundry businesses and a custom hat shop. "I feel like I've changed my mission set. I went from protecting my brothers in arms and making sure the country stays safe to protecting people from germs and dirty clothing," D'amato said. But looking back, he says living a life of service wasn't without sacrifice. "The way that I took being married and devoted myself to my job over family. I wish I had done that a little bit differently. That was my biggest challenge. I think it takes a lot to actually admit that," explained D'amato. Overall, though, D'amato believes serving in the military was important for not only what he accomplished but who he became. "Just the growing up you do in that amount of time. I just think it's so beneficial to anyone," he concluded. D'amato is also an assistant coach for Dickinson Trinity Football, continuing his life of service in every fashion. Close Thanks for signing up! 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