If you have not read or heard about the Marine military working dog handler Cpl Dustin Lee and his mwd Lex then check them out. Cpl Lee was killed in action during the War on Terror but his mwd Lex survived and has been adopted by Cpl Lee’s family. This is video of Lex in a Veterans Day Parade in Phoenix from this past month.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBhL6eiDDJw]
February 12th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
For Immediate Release
February 4, 2009
Governor Crist is set to make Florida the first state in the Union, to declare March 13 as “K9 Veterans Day”
A nation-wide effort, with roots in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, is working to get the entire country to recognize March 13 as K9 Veterans Day. And Florida will now truly take the lead on this honorable mission, as Governor Crist is set to declare K9 Veterans Day for the entire state. Last year Mayor Peyton made Jacksonville the first city to declare such a thing, and the group is hopeful that Florida will also have it’s Congress people lead the way for the national recognition, of all the dogs, of all our wars. And because of the current war on terror, such dogs as Customs Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs, Border Patrol Dogs, Police Dogs, Secret Service Dogs, and many more will be included in the recognition. This then will be a memorial to their service annually, as they too served, bled, and died.
Dogs have served with honor throughout the history of our Country’s birth and growth, and have served at many jobs in all of our wars. However, there was never an official K9 Corps until March 13, 1942. Hence the effort to create March 13 as K9 Veterans Day. Doing this honors the dogs for their selfless service, while avoiding any objections one may have if dogs were truly included in the human Veterans Day.
To this day dogs are serving daily in Florida, and Coast Guard dogs helped to guard the beaches way back during WW II. And Joe White, who launched the effort, lives in Florida, so he feels it only right that Florida lead the way on this, letting everyone know that the state honors all it’s Veterans. And thanks to Mayor Peyton, and Governor Crist, Florida is apparently on a mission to get this done. Hopefully other cities and states will follow Florida’s lead, and proclaim K9 Veterans Day for their area.
Joseph J. White
http://www.k9veteransday.org
904-241-6051
K9veteransday@aol.com