Thursday, December 06, 2007
Tanker Bros gone to the dogs!
Three dog stories today - and not one of them a shaggy dog!!! All very special dogs...
Cpl Dusty Lee and Lex in Iraq December 2006
Cpl. Dusty Lee and Lex.
A letter written by Lex:
written by John Burnam
I'm a U.S. Marine and the primary element of a two-member team trained to hunt and locate explosives. My partner and I trained as a team for many months honing our expertise to save American lives in the War on Terrorism in Iraq.
The date is March 21, 2007 and I was on the job in Fallujah, Iraq when an enemy fired Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) exploded in our midst. I was blasted to the ground. I'm Stunned. My head is ringing and my body feels numb. My eyes can't quite focus on anything.
My partner is lying next to me severely wounded and bleeding. I move to him and touch him but he's not responding. I feel sharp pains in my side and back. I'm bleeding but deal with it and concentrate on comforting my partner and protecting him from further harm.
Everything happened so fast that it caused disorientation and confusion. My senses pick up the lingering smell of burnt powder and smoke from the explosion. I hear lots of American voices and heavy boot-steps hurrying all around us. They reach our location and immediately attend to my partner. And then they carry him
away. I'm separated from my partner for the first time. I'm not clear of thought and then I too am carried way but to a different hospital...(much more about our Lex here.)
Following his recovery, a campaign was begin to allow Lex to retire and become a part of Cpl Dusty Lee's family forever. In December 2007, Lex officially went to live with Cpl Dusty Lee's family. At that time I wrote (in part):
Friday, December 21, 2007
Welcome Home Lex!
Nine months to the day that Cpl. Dusty Lee gave his all in service to his country, his beloved dog Lex was finally home with Dusty's family. I originally posted about the campaign to have the military retire Lex, and have him live out his well-earned retirement with the Lee family. You can read that here.(AP Picture)
- Today is adoption day for Lex, the first military dog to be adopted by his handler's family.
ALBANY — Meet Lex.
[...]Lex “adjusts very well,” said Reynolds, who has known Lex only since the dog returned from a 12-week evaluation at Camp LeJeune after his injuries in Iraq.
“Lex has a great demeanor. He is great to work with. I’ve enjoyed working with him since being here,” said Reynolds, a former handler with the Albany Dougherty Drug Unit who adopted his own drug unit dog when the dog retired....(more here)
[...]
We all know that having Lex as part of the Lee family will never bring their beloved son Dusty back, but my prayer is that having Lex with them - Lex who protected Dusty to the end - as part of the family, will bring some small comfort to the Lees and to Lex. (more here)
Lex's heroic deeds were formally recognised in February 2008:
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Lex earns a Purple Heart
Remember Dusty Lee and his beloved MWD Lex? I wrote about them both here and here.
Now, another milestone in Lex's life:...
There is much more on Lex, and how YOU can help him in his latest challenge, over at Assoluta Tranquillita here.