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TRIBUTE TO FALLEN
MILITARY WORKING DOG HANDLERS & DOGS
IN THE WAR ON TERROR
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USMC Corporal Dustin J. Lee and Lex, Iraq 2006
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| Please notify Richard Deggans at email rdeggans@gmail.com of any discrepancies noted on this page. |
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| Dog and Handler KIA |
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U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Adam Leigh Cann, age 23 of Davie, Florida, was killed in action on January 5, 2006 by a suicide bomb attack in Ramadi, Iraq. Sgt. Cann and his bomb-sniffing German Shepherd, Bruno were working security and crowd control at an Iraqi police recruiting center. Bruno alerted on a suspected target in the crowd. Sgt Cann confronted a male suspect and discovered he was wearing a vest of explosives. Sgt Cann immediately threw himself into the terrorist as he detonated the vest. Sgt. Cann was killed instantly and Bruno was wounded. Sgt Cann’s gave up his life to save the lives of fellow Marines standing nearby and was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor. Bruno recovered from his wounds and remained on active duty. Sgt Cann was the first Military K9 Handler killed in combat since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.
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| Handler KIA |
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U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Jason Norton, age 32 of Miami, Oklahoma was killed when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while escorting a convoy near Taji, Iraq. TSgt. Norton had been a Military Working Dog Handler for several years and was the K9 Trainer at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska when he received orders to deploy to Iraq. His orders were for duty as a Security Police TSgt, not a K9 Handler, so he reported for duty without a K9 partner at his side. TSgt Norton epitomizes the motto “Once K9 – Always K9.” TSgt. Norton left behind a loving family including 2 young children.
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| Handler KIA - Dog wounded |
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U.S. Marine Corporal Dustin Jerome Lee, age 20 of Stonewall, Mississippi was killed on March 21, 2007. While on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, an enemy fired rocket propelled grenade (RPG) exploded, mortally wounding Cpl. Lee and severely injuring his explosive detection dog, Lex. Although Lex was wounded himself, he refused to leave his partner’s side. In an honorable and compassionate gesture, the U.S. Marine Corps retired Lex to live with the Lee family on December 21, 2007. It was the first time in U.S. Marine Corps history that a working dog was allowed to be adopted by a fallen handler’s family.
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| Dog and Handler KIA |
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U.S. Army Corporal Kory Duane Wiens, age 20 of Independence, Oregon and his Specialized Search Dog, Cooper were both killed in action on July 6, 2007 by an improvised explosive device (IED), while on patrol in Muhammad Sath, Iraq. Kory and Cooper were the first military working dog team killed in combat together since Vietnam. They were best friends in life and were buried together. Corporal Wiens was named after his grandfather who was a military canine handler during the Korean War.
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| Handler KIA - Dog wounded |
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U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Donald T. Tabb, age 29, of Norcross, Georgia was killed February 5, 2008 when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle in Sangin, Afghanistan. He was a Specialized Search Dog Handler from Fort Rucker, Alabama. His dog, Bo, a 2-yeard old black Labrador retriever, was also wounded. SSgt. Tabb recently completed the Army's dog-handling course and was on his fifth deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was the first K9 Handler killed in Afghanistan. The U.S. Army retired Bo to Willie Smith (SSgt Tabb’s brother) in a fitting ceremony at Lawrenceville, Georgia on April 18, 2008.
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| Handler injured - Dog KIA |
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MARCO, U.S. Air Force Bomb Sniffing Dog, 6-year old Belgian Malinois was killed in action in Iraq on January 20, 2007. He and his handler Staff Sergeant Alissa Jones from Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma were assisting the U.S. Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team in a search for weapons caches, explosives, and improvised explosive devices materials. Marco suffered an acute cardio respiratory arrest secondary to electrocution. SSgt Jones was uninjured.
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| Handler injured - Dog KIA |
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ARRAS, U.S. Air Force Explosive Detection Dog, 5- year-old Dutch Shepherd was killed in action while on patrol in Iraq on September 25, 2007. Arras and his handler Staff Sergeant Marcus Reaves from Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, were conducting a building search for weapons and explosives at Sather Air Base, Iraq. Arras touched a location that was electrified by power cables killing him instantly. SSgt. Reaves sustained minor injuries and returned to duty.
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| Handler KIA |
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U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Gregory A. Rodriguez, age 35, of Weidman, Michigan, was killed in action on September 2, 2008 in Ana Kalay, Afghanistan when his mounted patrol came under small arms fire. His dog, Jacko, Specialized Search Dog, survived the attack. Sgt. Rodriguez and Jacko were assigned to the K-9 unit of the 527th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade. He will be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
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| Dog and Handler KIA |
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U.S. Army Specialist Brandon K. Steffey, age 23, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and his Bomb Dog, Macy were both killed in Laghman province, Afghanistan on October 25, 2009. Both died from wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Specialist Steffey and Macy were assigned to the 178th Military Police Detachment, 89th Military Police Brigade, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas. Specialist Steffey had served two combat tours of duty as a K-9 handler. He graduated from Brimley High School, Michigan in 2005. Specialist Steffey was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals and laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on November 4, 2009.
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| Handler KIA - Dog wounded |
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Cpl. Max W. Donahue, 23, of Highlands Ranch, Colorado died on August 7, 2010 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan while supporting combat operations. Cpl. Donahue enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2006 and served as a military policeman and Dog Handler. He had previously served 2 tours in Iraq.
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| Handler KIA - Dog Wounded |
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Ssgt. James Roger Ide, 32, of Festus, Missouri died on August 29, 2010 in Hyderabad, Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. SSGT Ide was a 1997 DeSoto High School graduate and was in the U.S. Army for 13 years. He served 2 tours in Irag before Afghanistan and 1 tour in Korea. He was a certified Dog Handler and trained bomb sniffing dogs and their handlers
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| Dog KIA |
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Oct 15, 2010 - Cole was born to be a champion. He died a hero.
The black Labrador retriever once owned by a Dover family gave his life for his country, saving a U.S. Marine on the killing fields of Afghanistan.
In Cole's last moments on earth, as Cpl. Brian Holm's three-man unit searched for mines along a dangerous road in Helmand Province, the black Lab looked over his shoulder at Holm, his handler.
Holm later told his wife, Brittany, that he will never forget the look on Cole's face. It seemed to say, "I won't let them hurt you."
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| Handler KIA |
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“Don’t be afraid to go after your hopes and dreams, but don’t be afraid to be willing to pay the price,” Rusk wrote under his senior photo in Orange Grove High School’s yearbook.
U.S. Marine Pfc. Colton Rusk, 20, a member of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, was killed in a firefight Sunday December 5, 2010 in Helmand Province, Sangin, Afghanistan.
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| Dog and Handler KIA |
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Lance Cpl. William “Billy” H. Crouse IV, 22, and his Military Working Dog Cane were part of a Marine patrol in Helmand Province Afghanistan, December 21, 2010, when an improvised explosive device was detonated, killing Cpl Crouse and his MWD Cane, his older sister, Jennifer Chaffee said Wednesday.
She said she didn’t know whether Crouse always wanted to be a Marine, but serving his nation was what mattered to him, she said.
“He really believed wholeheartedly that that was his purpose, and he was proud to wear that uniform,” she said.
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| Handler KIA |
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Sergeant Zainah C. Creamer, U.S. Army Military Working Dog Handler, age 28, and from Texarkana, Texas died of wounds suffered when enemy insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised bomb in the Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on January 12, 2011. Sgt. Creamer and her K9 partner, Jofa, were attached to the U.S. Army’s 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment during the enemy’s attack. Jofa was not injured. Sgt. Creamer is believed to be the first female Military Working Dog Handler killed in action since the program began in 1942. Sgt. Creamer served six years in the U.S. Army and was a member of the 212th Military Police Detachment, Headquarters Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
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| Handler KIA |
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US Marine Corps LCpl Peter James Clore KIA 28 May 2011 was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune. LCpl Clore was killed in a fire fight while on escorted patrol on 28 May 2011 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. LCpl Clore hailed from New Philadelphia, Ohio. His MWD, Duke P059 survived the engagement.
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| Dog and Handler KIA |
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US Army Sgt Aaron J. Blasjo KIA 29 May 2011 was assigned to the Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Sgt. Blasjo and his MWD, Hunter, were killed by an IED blast detonated under their Humvee on 29 May 2011 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. Sgt. Blasjo hailed from Riverside, California.
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| Dog and Handler KIA |
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Navy Master at Arms Petty Officer, 1st Class, John Douangdara, age 26 was killed in action in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. He was in the Chinook Helicopter that was shot down by insurgents in Afhanistan killing all 30 passengers, most were Navy SEALS.
Douangara, a native of Sioux City, Nebraska, enlisted in the Navy in 2003 and was assigned to the East Coast SEAL team in 2008. John was of Laotian heritage. His parents came to the U.S. 31 years ago.
His dog was a Belgian Malinois named Bart. Douangara was the lead dog handler for SEAL Team Six. "I didn't even know Johnny was a Navy SEAL," his mother Sengchanh Douangdara said. "I know that he loved his job, it was a job he chose.”
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| Handler KIA |
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Diaz, a native of El Paso, Texas, and a military working dog handler assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Forward), Task Force Belleau Wood, died Sept. 28 after being wounded while rushing to the aid of a comrade during combat operations in Helmand province.
During the service, Diaz’s friends and fellow Marines, joined by Dino, Diaz’s working dog, remembered him as a family man with two young children and a contagious grin, but also as an elite Marine and a highly trained and skilled dog handler.
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| Lex, Dustin Lee's MWD adopted by the Lee family |
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LEX, U.S. Marine Corps Bomb Sniffing Dog served two tours of duty in Iraq and was wounded in action at the side of his handler, Corporal Dustin Jerome Lee, who was killed on March 21, 2007. Although severely wounded, Lex stayed and protected Dustin until help arrived and they were physically separated. Lex was retired from the USMC in a “nationally televised” ceremony on December 21, 2008. The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 566, awarded Lex a “Commemorative Purple Heart” in a fitting ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on February 16, 2008. Lex now lives in peace and harmony with the Lee family in Quitman, Mississippi.
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