- Reaction score
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- Points
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Folks
This is a heart warming story. Please read it in its entirety.
http://www.blackfive.net/
An Iraqi man, Mohammed, was running towards the American patrol holding a small bloody child in his arms. A 7.62 round had fallen out of the sky and struck her right temple. The round had passed along the side of her face and buried itself in her neck. She was blue and her eyes were cloudy.
The patrol then evacuated the little girl and her family to the CSH in the International Zone where the bullet was surgically removed.
While on the base, the soldiers had trained a dog to help with protection of the base. Adopted as a force protection dog, one female would walk with the soldiers as they moved out on foot to observation posts, almost as if she were wanting to be sure that they made it safely. This dog, and others, helped lift the spirits of Alex and other soldiers, as well as improving their security.
A few weeks later, on May 19th, 2007, all six men were killed in Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle while on patrol.
In going through his possessions, Alex Valera's mother, Rinda Pope of Orangevale, CA, was struck by the photographs of her son with the dogs. She began efforts to get one of the dogs, but was not having any success. Lt. Tom Hickey, Alex's platoon leader, found out about her efforts from another soldier, Specialist Matthew Alford, and began working to get her something much more tangible than a letter or medal: one of the dogs that Alex had enjoyed so much.
This is a heart warming story. Please read it in its entirety.
http://www.blackfive.net/
An Iraqi man, Mohammed, was running towards the American patrol holding a small bloody child in his arms. A 7.62 round had fallen out of the sky and struck her right temple. The round had passed along the side of her face and buried itself in her neck. She was blue and her eyes were cloudy.
The patrol then evacuated the little girl and her family to the CSH in the International Zone where the bullet was surgically removed.
While on the base, the soldiers had trained a dog to help with protection of the base. Adopted as a force protection dog, one female would walk with the soldiers as they moved out on foot to observation posts, almost as if she were wanting to be sure that they made it safely. This dog, and others, helped lift the spirits of Alex and other soldiers, as well as improving their security.
A few weeks later, on May 19th, 2007, all six men were killed in Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle while on patrol.
In going through his possessions, Alex Valera's mother, Rinda Pope of Orangevale, CA, was struck by the photographs of her son with the dogs. She began efforts to get one of the dogs, but was not having any success. Lt. Tom Hickey, Alex's platoon leader, found out about her efforts from another soldier, Specialist Matthew Alford, and began working to get her something much more tangible than a letter or medal: one of the dogs that Alex had enjoyed so much.
