(Above photo)Lex in Iraq taking action!The following article was sent to me by John Burnam! Thanks so much!
You may have seen this story recently on these major networks CBS, CNN, ABC, NBC:
When a mortar attack killed a 20-year old Marine Corporal Dustin Lee in Fallujah, Iraq on March 21, 2007, Lex, his military working dog, whimpering off Lee's body when help finally arrived. Cpl. Lee and Lex had been assigned to search for roadside bombs together.
That strong bond comelled the slain Marine's family to adopt 8-year old Lex even through the military said he still had two years of service to complete. The Lee family, from Quitman, Mississippi, lobbied the military, launched an Internet petition, and enlisted the aid of a North Carolina Congressman who took their case straight to the Marine Corps' top general.
On Wednesday, December 12, 2007, the Marine coprs finally announced Lex could go home to Cpl. Lee's family. It is the first time in the history of the U.S. Marine Coprs that a military working dog was granted early retirement and given to the family of a fallen Marine. Finally, on December 21, exactly nine months after the fatal attack, Lex was united with the Lee family in a nationally televised military retirement ceremony.
Lex, a German Shepard Bomb-sniffing dog, was placed back on active duty after several months in physical rehabilitation. Lex would not be eligible for adoption until the year 2010 and the Lee family was given first priority for his adoption.
Two years was too long for the Lees to wait and in November 2007, Ms. Kelly Hooker, Director of the Military Working Dog Memorial project at Elgin Air Force Base and friend of the Lee family, contacted Mr. John Burnam, our Senior Technical Writer for Passenger Systems Program Office and founder of the National War Dogs Monument Project. Ms. Hooker asked Mr. Burnam fo help with the early adoption. Mr. Burnam immediately contacted Dustin's father, Mr. Jerome Lee, and together they composed letters to the Lee's state representatives and the family drafted a petition that was posted on the Internet seeking public support.
John Burnam met with N. Carolina Congressman, Mr. Walter B. Jones at his Washington D.C. office on November 13, 2007. Rep. Jones, who is a sponser of the National War Dogs Monument Project bill, was moved to tears after reading Mr. Burnam's short story, "My Partner, Dustin" about the incidents surrounding Cpl. Lee's death from the perspective of Lex. He telephoned Mr. Jerome Lee and offered his condolensces and assitance in the their quest to adopt Lex. Mr. Burnam and Representative Jones, spread the word through radio interviews, print media, and TV news gathering public support for the adoption of Lex. The Lee family's Internet petition garnered over 3,400 signatures from around the world supporting the adoption of Lex.
After a few discussions between Rep. Jones and Marine Corps Commandant, General James T. Conway, the retirement and adoption of Lex was underway. The Marine Corps displayed tremendous compassion for the Lee family. They dispatched a veternarian to give Lex a complete medical examination before his official discharge and conducted a military retirement ceremony honoring the service of both Lex and Corporal Dustin Lee.
John Burnam, Master Sergeant, U.S. Army(Ret), served in Vietnam as a Combat Infantryman, 7th Calvary Regiment, and as German Shepard Scout Handler, 44th Scout Dog Platoon.
"It was a very gratifying experience for me," John Burnam said, "as a Vietnam veteran German Shepard Scout Dog Handler to have helped Dustin's family adopt Lex. It was truly the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for. On Janurary 6, 2008, I visited with the Lee family and Lex. The entire family is extremely grateful that their son's last best friend is now home. I was also able to pay my respects to Cpl. Dustin J. Lee at his beautiful resting place at Stonewall Cemetary in Mississippi."
