Marine veteran Kyle Muller, of Sayville, receives a landscaping makeover...

Marine veteran Kyle Muller, of Sayville, receives a landscaping makeover last week, ahead of his wedding Saturday. Credit: Randee Daddona

Kyle Muller spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps serving in Hawaii and Japan before arriving home to Queens in 2020, just as the pandemic was ravaging the country and the then-23-year-old’s future career prospects.

Muller was out of work. He enrolled in college to study fire science and got a job as an apprentice elevator mechanic to make ends meet as he waded through the uncertainty, hoping to eventually continue his career of service as a first responder in New York City.

He recently bought his first house in Sayville, fights fires for a living for the FDNY in his native Queens, and was getting ready to marry his fiancee, Megan, this past Saturday.   

Dozens of volunteers showed up at Muller’s house the week before the wedding to give back to the veteran-turned-firefighter and take some financial pressure off his shoulders by revamping his backyard, installing everything from new landscaping to patio furniture and a grill.

“It means so much. I can’t thank everybody enough who was here,” Muller told Newsday. “I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do that all alone. And weddings aren’t cheap — so I’m putting a lot of money into that.”

The yard makeover was organized by The Home Depot Foundation, the national nonprofit wing of that company, as well as the Nesconset-based veterans organization Paws of War.

The groups held a lottery to find an eligible veteran who could use some home improvements and selected Muller after a friend threw his name into the hat.

“One of my friends from Queens texted me [last November] and said, ‘I entered you in some sort of home makeover [lottery for] Veterans Day,’” Muller said. “I didn't think anything of it. Then, I got a call ... and here we are.”

Between 30 and 40 volunteers with the nonprofits made the trek to Muller’s home on April 3 to give it the long-awaited revamp. They worked for about four hours in the cold rain to install about $5,300 worth of upgrades, according to James Field, a volunteer with the Home Depot Foundation.

“It was a full beautification process. We refreshed some of the mulch beds, planted flowers. We also pressure-washed the back patio, some of the siding. We assembled a patio set — tables and chairs — along with the grill,” he said. And for Saturday's wedding, “We also set up an area in the backyard where he can kind of take a couple of pictures to kind of commemorate that day.”

Raymond Meyer is one of the leaders of Paws of War who worked on Muller’s yard. The local nonprofit typically focuses on connecting veterans and first responders with service animals but has teamed up with Fields to help veterans like Muller a handful of times.

Meyer told Newsday that “Kyle signed up to support our country and did what he had to do … and it was good to give back.”

“He really deserved the recognition today,” Meyer added. “He’s just getting married. He’s at the start of his life. I think this kind of made it just a bit more special that, at the start of the week before he was getting married, somebody was thinking about him and his family.”

Kyle Muller spent four years in the U.S. Marine Corps serving in Hawaii and Japan before arriving home to Queens in 2020, just as the pandemic was ravaging the country and the then-23-year-old’s future career prospects.

Muller was out of work. He enrolled in college to study fire science and got a job as an apprentice elevator mechanic to make ends meet as he waded through the uncertainty, hoping to eventually continue his career of service as a first responder in New York City.

He recently bought his first house in Sayville, fights fires for a living for the FDNY in his native Queens, and was getting ready to marry his fiancee, Megan, this past Saturday.   

Dozens of volunteers showed up at Muller’s house the week before the wedding to give back to the veteran-turned-firefighter and take some financial pressure off his shoulders by revamping his backyard, installing everything from new landscaping to patio furniture and a grill.

“It means so much. I can’t thank everybody enough who was here,” Muller told Newsday. “I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do that all alone. And weddings aren’t cheap — so I’m putting a lot of money into that.”

The yard makeover was organized by The Home Depot Foundation, the national nonprofit wing of that company, as well as the Nesconset-based veterans organization Paws of War.

The groups held a lottery to find an eligible veteran who could use some home improvements and selected Muller after a friend threw his name into the hat.

“One of my friends from Queens texted me [last November] and said, ‘I entered you in some sort of home makeover [lottery for] Veterans Day,’” Muller said. “I didn't think anything of it. Then, I got a call ... and here we are.”

Two nonprofit organizations at work at Muller's home.

Two nonprofit organizations at work at Muller's home. Credit: Randee Daddona

Between 30 and 40 volunteers with the nonprofits made the trek to Muller’s home on April 3 to give it the long-awaited revamp. They worked for about four hours in the cold rain to install about $5,300 worth of upgrades, according to James Field, a volunteer with the Home Depot Foundation.

“It was a full beautification process. We refreshed some of the mulch beds, planted flowers. We also pressure-washed the back patio, some of the siding. We assembled a patio set — tables and chairs — along with the grill,” he said. And for Saturday's wedding, “We also set up an area in the backyard where he can kind of take a couple of pictures to kind of commemorate that day.”

Raymond Meyer is one of the leaders of Paws of War who worked on Muller’s yard. The local nonprofit typically focuses on connecting veterans and first responders with service animals but has teamed up with Fields to help veterans like Muller a handful of times.

Meyer told Newsday that “Kyle signed up to support our country and did what he had to do … and it was good to give back.”

“He really deserved the recognition today,” Meyer added. “He’s just getting married. He’s at the start of his life. I think this kind of made it just a bit more special that, at the start of the week before he was getting married, somebody was thinking about him and his family.”

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