Marine dog handler Corporal Dustin Lee was killed by an RPG in Fallujah and his MWD, Lex is the subject of a fight between his family and the corps.
Military working dogs have been a formidable force multiplier since the time of the Romans. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like those who have gone before them, they took their war dogs with them. Some of them have not come back. Four have been killed. Army Cpl. Kory Duane Wiens and his dog Cooper were buried together after they were killed in the same bomb in the town of Muhammad Sath, Iraq. Air Force handler TSgt Jason Norton was killed on convoy duty without his dog. Marine Sgt Adam Cann was killed in 2006 and his partner, Bruno, continues to serve. Then you have Marine Cpl Dustin Lee who was killed by 73mm rocket in Fallujah. Corporal Lee's dog, a seven year old German Shepard named Lex, was also wounded but survived and has been reassigned.
Corporal Lee's family would like to be reunited with Lex, his war dog, his buddy, and tragically, his last companion. The marines contend that they are too short of military working dogs (only 170 dogs in the entire marine corps of nearly 200,000 men and women) to cut Lex's leash and allow the Lee family to adopt him. President Clinton signed a law permitting military dogs to be adopted once they can no longer perform their military duties; however there has not been a case of a late handler's family trying to adopt his surviving dog.
The Lee family is fighting to bring him home and have some 3,000 supporters.
*UPDATE- on December 21st, Lex was adopted by the Lee family. It is the first time a military working dog was allowed to go to a slain serviceman's survivors.
