His life was a blessing, his memory a treasure, he is loved beyond words & missed beyond measure
Matthew served in the armed forces. We honor that service here.
PO1 GM1 (EXW/SW)
Special boat team twenty
Matthew John Austin E-6
Born on May 22,1993. He loved sports, fishing, hunting & NC State. Matthew played football, baseball & basketball. He was also in the Boy Scouts. His middle school football team went undefeated. Matthew was always a high achiever in anything he done. He got accepted into the Duke TIP program at an early age during his elementary years. He had the chance to skip high school & go into early college, however I felt he would miss out on so much by skipping high school. I encouraged him not to do early college. As a senior he had Landon, he was matthews entire world. His father & I encouraged him to either go to college (he was accepted in every college from coast to coast) or to join the military to support his family. Ge chose the USN as his career. We were extremely proud of him. He reported to basic at Great Lakes chicago IL on Dec 5,2013. In March 2014 he was assigned to the USS PORTER (DDG-78) forwarded deployed to Rita Spain, as an undesignated seaman working in the deck department. Upon receiving GM, Matthew oversaw all of the ships small arms as the armory work center supervisor. He was responsible for over 80,000 rounds of ammo & pyrotechnics. He conducted several ballistic missile defense missions supporting Europe command & Israel. He was the primary MK-32 surface vessel torpedo tube mount captain & became a line coach, where he qualified over 200 sailors in weapons manipulation & firing effectiveness. While aboard the USS PORTER, Matthew received his first & second navy & marine corps achievement medals, qualified as an enlisted surface warfare specialist & received multiply qualifications. He was also in charge of the maintenance torpedo launching system. He manned a M240 & a 50 caliber machine gun. On September 28 the USS PORTER departed from Vlore, Albania. While on patrol conducting naval operations in the US 6th fleet in support of the US national security interest in Europe. On April 7, 2017 in the Mediterranean Sea Syria carried out a strike, in response the USS PORTER was involved in the attack & fires tomahawk missiles. The USS Ross assisted the USS PORTER in the attack. Syrias aircraft & infrastructure were hit, including the runway & gas fuel pumps. The airfield was severely damaged, reducing Syrias capability to deliver chemical weapons as planned. On August 15,2017 Matthew reported to special boat team 20 (SBT-20) as a naval special warfare armorer technician. He received his duty armorer ordinance quality assurance safety observer & his expeditionary warfare specialist qualifications within his first 6 months. He was also the work center supervisor for the weapons department & provided ordnance demolition driver training (Demo) & certified personnel as a NSW DEMO drivers. He demonstrated his exceptional craft for weapons by developing a repair method for the 50 caliber machine guns. Prior to innovation, these weapons were designated as “beyond repair” & were slated to be returned to naval special warfare command crane for repair. Matthew took initiative by identifying the problem, creating a process to repair the weapons by utilizing parts from older 50 caliber machine guns. He provided NSWC with a detailed presentation & instructions on how to implement his solution. NSWC crane confirmed his assessment & found his solution to be of significant value. They disseminated his presentation to every armory. The USN stated there is no way to calculate the savings, Matthew attributed for initiative & determination used to identify & correct the weapons. His actions saved on repair turnaround time, minimized lost training time & ensured this weapon system has more time on target availability. He was directly responsible for correcting 38 out of 500 known discrepancies, which could have been a substantial amount. The estimate of savings just to ship the machine guns back was $43,150 & roughly 6 months of repair time, preventing training. While stationed at SPT-20 he received his first navy & marine corps commendation medal & was posthumously advanced to first class Petty officer in June 2019. He received several awards & ribbons including Navy “E” ribbon, good conduct metal, national defense service medal, global war on terrorism expeditionary medal, sea service development ribbon, navy & marine corps overseas service ribbon, North Atlantic treaty organization medal, rifle marksman ribbon & the pistol marksman ribbon (EXPERT) & many more. Matthew was active aboard SBT-20 when he gained his angel wings on June 30, 2019. Where he was well liked & dedicated to honor his country & the naval service by the work he preformed throughout his naval career. His distinct personality & expertise made an immediate impact on those who meet him. He quickly gained friendships of peers & subordinates alike & had a reputation as one of the finest petty officers in the command. He had a smile that always lite up any room & a huge caring heart. He always showed kindness & respect to all. He loved his job & son very much. He had 2 tattoos, 1 of the GM symbol & the other was his sons name Landon. He is missed & loved by so many!
Family milestones in gold, history for context
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A memory of Matthew
I had just finished my sunset hike at hawk rock and found matthew, I plan to keep him with me and place him at the next cool spot for the next person to help continue his journey!
Found Matthew in Knoxville, Tennessee
Matthew went scuba diving with me, I found him on the grill at Loch Low Minn, I promise to make sure his memory is carried on and that I’ll bring him to even better places, ensuring someone else will find him and carry on the same memory. 9/19/26
Matthew is on an Honor Flight
Today, 4/28/26, Matthew left from Punta Gorda, Florida Airport around 6 am. He arrived at Dulles Intl approx 8:30. He has been touring Washington, DC with 100 other veterans today, thanks to a couple members of the Rotonda West American Legion Auxiliary Unit 113.
Matthew cruised the Caribbean
My husband, a 36 yr USAF veteran, and I went on a cruise last month and took Matthew with us. I emailed pictures to his mom but want to share some here.
Matthew at Englewood Chamber
Tanya and I represent the Rotonda West American Legion Auxiliary at local chamber events. This evening we took Matthew along and shared his story. We also gave away a few of his "charms". Who knows where he will pop up next? 🇺🇲🌟
Found in Baxley Georgia
Found him in Baxley GA at Murray Forestry!
Found him at St.Marys ❤️
Found him in St.Marys at the park. And brought him back to our home Savannah Ga. He now travels with me everywhere I go until I find the perfect place for him to continue his journey.
He goes everywhere my bag goes
I had received this card during the Run for the fallen event in North Carolina. He has stayed on my personal/work bag since. I have brought him many places when I travel he has been to weddings and all sorts of things. I'm proud to have it here with me and I am going to share more posts of where I go with him. Everywhere I go his memory will be right there with me. I have a few picture form the most recent advetures and will have more shortly .
Ruck 22 Madison Ms. and Bataan march marathon
I found Matthew’s card at the 22 Ruck event in Madison Mississippi. He will be going with me on my first marathon to White Sands, New Mexico to honor the soldiers that endured the Bataan Death March and to honor my great uncle who was a survivor of the march.
Salem, OR to California
Matthew went on. Family trip with me to Jelly Belly factory (Fairfield,CA) , the Japanese Tea Garden and Pier 39 in San Fransisco
Athens Alabama
We found Matthew’s card at Lowe’s store #1799 in Athens Alabama. We plan to take him on many adventures with some of the employees here, starting with the beach in a couple of days
Found in Charlotte, NC
Found this gem at Great Wolf Lodge. I have been carrying him with me for over a year now. I will someday leave the card for another to find. It has been well traveled and many memories made during conversations of the card and key chain. 🫶🏼 Gone but not forgotten.
Salem, OR
I found Matthews card among a few that were left with roses at Salem Oregon's War Memorial walls near the capital building. I plan to bring him with me on some journey's in my life and will find somewhere special to leave him to pass him along. May God bless your family and his son Landon for generations to come.
Found Matthew’s card in Opp, Al.
I found Matthew’s card in a small-town restaurant here in Opp Alabama. What a powerful and beautiful way to honor your son. His life was clearly a blessing, and his memory deserves to be cherished and shared. I will take Matthew’s card with me and place it somewhere special, so his journey can continue touching others. From one mama to another, I’m sending you the biggest hug. 💙
South Portland, ME
My daughter and I happened upon Matthew’s charm in a tiny little alcove on Bug Light lighthouse. This was just before the 4th of July fireworks. As an armed service member with a pyrotechnics background, he would have appreciated the display.
Springfield Missouri Bass Pro Shop
I was down in Springfield Missouri making a delivery to another veteran(friends with my son Cody) and I decided that me and my charms needed to visit the Mac daddy of all outdoor stores. The original and very first Bass Pro to exist. 🦅🦅 Matthew Austin 🦅🦅
Grand Canyon find.🥰
Hi I found Matthew’s memory card while hiking at the Grand Canyon. I will have him with me on the rest of my vacation. We went on a horseback ride today in Cottonwood and then to the ghost town in Jerome Az. We may go to the lava tunnels tomorrow. He will travel back to Bahama North Carolina with me Saturday and on Sunday he will travel with me to Surry Virginia. I will be pulling my camper with my two dogs for work at the nuclear power station for 6-8 weeks. I am so proud to take Matthew along with me. I worked at the shipyard in Newport News for 2.5 years working on several ships doing pipe installation. I will be traveling some this summer and will keep you posted on our journeys. So special that I picked up your card for him. 🥰🥰🥰 my dad was a Navy vet Hope my travels are what Matthew would have loved… Annmarie
Great Wolf Lodge, Concord, NC
Found tucked away on a window sill, ⚓️ this one’s for you squid
Magic Kingdom
I found Matthew on vacation at Magic Kingdom in Orlando FL! As a member of the armed forces I immediately felt inspired. Our troops are so important and we appreciate Matthew and those who keep his memory alive!
Fair winds and following seas
Came across Matthew on the banks of the Nantahala River in North Carolina. As a Navy Sea Bee I felt an immediate kinship. I think about all who miss him and wonder about the legacy he left behind. Rest Easy Brother
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