December 15, 2007
Fallen Marine's family adopts his comrade-in-arms
Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee and his German shepherd Lex set out on daily mission in the Fallujah, Iraq, area before Lee was killed in March.
Did you hear about the Marine whose family mourned his loss in Falujah, Iraq, in March -- and their desire to spend time with his closest pal in the Corps?
When Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee’s personal effects were shipped to his childhood home in Mississippi after his death in Iraq last spring, his family found some typical items — a laptop computer, a pair of glasses and a few photos from home.
But they also found some things not every Marine would have — several dog toys, a harness and a short, knotted piece of rope, gnawed and frayed at the ends.
Lee was a 20-year-old dog handler who spent the final months of his life with a German shepherd named Lex at his side. They were on a mission together on March 21 when a rocket-propelled grenade killed Lee. As the young Marine lay dying on a street in Fallujah, the dog nudged his handler’s face, then lay loyally at his side while a corpsman treated his fatal wounds, several Marines told his family.
More than eight months later, as members of the Lee family prepare for their first Christmas since Dustin’s death, they have a final request of the Marine Corps: permission to adopt their son’s canine partner.
“I know Dustin would want Lex to be with his family,” said Lee’s uncle, Brian Rich. “They gave their son — he made the ultimate sacrifice. If it brings his family some comfort to see the dog there, then why not?”
But Marine officials say Lex is still on active duty. The 7-year-old dog was wounded in the same explosion that killed Lee, but has fully recovered. The dog is working alongside military police, assisting with force protection at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., where Lee was stationed.
The Lee family hasn’t seen the dog since Marines brought him to the funeral in April.
[...]
Marine Corps Headquarters is aware of the family’s request, and is “working the situation at their level,” according to 2nd Lt. Caleb Eames, a public affairs officer in Albany. Lee was the third of four military dog handlers killed since 2003.
The laws covering adoption of military dogs have evolved in recent years. During the Vietnam War, thousands of dogs were abandoned or euthanized when U.S. troops withdrew. Virtually none came home.
For decades, the military considered the dogs to be “equipment” and had no process for adopting them after they “retired.” That changed in 2000, when President Clinton signed a law allowing adoptions once the dogs could no longer perform their duties.
In 2005, Congress heard the story of Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana, who suffered nearly fatal injuries and asked to adopt her bomb-sniffing dog. President Bush signed a law permitting early adoptions for the individual troops who have worked with the dog.
The case of the Lee family may be the first instance of a deceased handler’s family seeking to adopt a military dog. The Lee family has begun a petition drive and created a Web site to chronicle their efforts to adopt the dog.
Lex is one of about 170 dogs in the Corps, and the canines are in intense demand. Lex “is potentially saving lives by performing his mission,” Eames said.
The relationship between a dog and its handler in a combat zone is unique, said John Burnam, author of “Dog Tags of Courage: The Turmoil of War and the Rewards of Companionship.”
“When that bond finally clicks, you just sort of become one. Once the handler draws down into the level of the dog’s world and learns what the dog knows, he can really communicate with the animal,” Burnam said. “You can see, in the case of Dustin Lee, the dog didn’t get startled by the explosion and run away. The dog was wounded and bleeding, but he crawled over and pawed to get his handler’s attention.”
I'd be lying if I didn't say that last line was hard to read; for some reason, my eyes were blurry.
Marines escort the bomb-sniffing dog named Lex to the funeral for his handler, Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee, in Mississippi in April.
In what seems like the perfect expression of the meaning of Christmas -- at least to this Jewish kid from Brooklyn -- the Corps has made its decision.
After more than six months of effort, the family of a fallen Marine dog handler got permission Wednesday to adopt the bomb-sniffing German shepherd who was at their son’s side when he died in Fallujah, Iraq, last March.
The family of Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee is planning to pick up the 7-year-old dog named “Lex” on Dec. 21 at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., where Lee was stationed.
“Lex will always be a special part of our family,” Lee’s father, Jerome Lee, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “Lex was Dusty’s best friend and partner.”
[...]
Lee, 20, spent the final months of his life with Lex at his side. He was killed March 21 on a daily mission when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded nearby. The dog was also wounded but crawled over to his handler, nudged his face, then lay at his side as a corpsman treated his wounds, Marines in Lee’s unit told his family.
My condolences to Cpl. Lee's family, and my congratulations on their newest addition to the Lee household.
May Lex live out his days with those who so loved his master, and may his presence help ease their pain over his loss.
Posted by Mike Lief at December 15, 2007 04:34 PM
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