Sailor Story: Navy Officer and Cancer Survivor

[Navy for Moms Admin]

Sailor: Lieutenant Dennis Wischmeier, Burke, Va.
Mom: Tisha Wischmeier, Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Naval officer, family man and cancer survivor, Lt. Dennis Wischmeier grew up surrounded by airplanes – whether listening to old Navy stories that his father and grandfather loved to tell or seeing his mother in her flight attendant uniform.

After graduating from high school in 1997, Wischmeier was accepted into both the United States Naval Academy and the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He chose George Washington University to begin his education.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and Japanese studies, Wischmeier was eager to begin an adventurous life in the U.S. Navy. Though initially afraid for her son, today Tisha Wischmeier is bursting with pride over his achievements.

“I was scared at first,” she says. “The fear subsides over time and pride and love takes its place. I am so proud of him; it’s overwhelming at times.”

In 2002, Wischmeier’s life kicked into high gear. After receiving his Naval Flight Officer wings in Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla., he went on to NAS Whidbey Island, Wash., where he qualified as an Electronic Warfare Mission Commander and reported to the elite Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1), one of only two squadrons across the country that fly the EP-3E Aries II aircraft.

Soon after he and his wife welcomed their first child, Wischmeier was deployed on his first sea tour to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. There, his squadron conducted intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance air missions to support ground forces and collect highly confidential data.

“I was a new father and finally supporting my country,” Wischmeier says. “I had been waiting for these two moments for so long – I was filled with the sensation of doing something important.”

By 2005, Wischmeier had promoted to Lieutenant and embarked on more than seven deployments, traveling to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Oman, Diego Garcia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Guam, Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, the islands of Seychelles and his personal favorite, Japan. Fluent in Japanese, he flourished during his time in Okinawa – spending time with locals and bonding closely with other young fathers in the Navy.

Wischmeier says the Navy has not hindered the bond within his family.

“There are all different types of men in the Navy,” Wischmeier says. “I’m a family man – I focus on my work, I am dedicated to getting the job done, but I also make it a priority to speak to my wife on the phone each and every day. You just have to find a way to maintain a balance and get through the tough times.”

In August 2005, after becoming a Mission Commander, Wischmeier’s life took a dramatic and unpredictable turn. While flying a mission over Okinawa, Japan, he was struck by a jagged pain in his lower back. Filled with worry, Wischmeier completed his mission and quickly returned home to seek medical care. He and his wife soon learned he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer, which had metastasized into his abdomen. He began treatment immediately. After months of enduring excruciating chemotherapy and numerous surgeries, Wischmeier completed treatment and today is cancer-free.

“I have been in tense situations during my time in the Navy – but facing cancer was an entirely different ballgame, to say the least,” Wischmeier says. “I love the Navy and I cherish my family – saying that I am happy to be alive is an absolute understatement.”

In late 2006, a healthy Wischmeier relocated to Washington, D.C., with new orders as the lead action officer within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. In July 2008, Wischmeier embarks on a new chapter. He and his family move to Hawaii where he will spend three years as an intelligence officer at Naval Station, Pearl Harbor. He continues to wake up every morning, look up at the sky and say “thank- you.”

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PEARL HARBOR (July 18, 2008) The Battleship Missouri Memorial is illuminated in red, white and blue for the Navy's Great White Gala.