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May 06, 2004

Puppy Love

Meet Melissa.

She is the newest and, at 11 weeks, youngest member of the Marine Aircraft Wing currently serving in Al Taqqadum, Iraq. And, she's a gift from the Commanding General.

"I believe all Marines, in their hearts, are dog lovers," said Maj. Gen. James F. Amos, commanding general, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, "so it's easy to have compassion for a dog who is out in the middle of a war zone. I felt that maybe a dog would pick their spirits up and be something the squadron could identify with and get a touch of home.",

Melissa was airlifted with other supplies and presented to Lt. Col. David R. Leppelmeier, commanding officer of the Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, Marine Wing Support Group 37.

"I know that having her around has changed the atmosphere around the unit, because everybody knows that she lives here in the compound and everybody pets her. She might get in their way sometimes or gnaw at their feet, but no matter what, Melissa is the one little distraction that reminds them of their pet at home," said Leppelmeier.

"Melissa is great. She knows how to play me like a fiddle," he chuckled. "She's really changed my whole world and helped me out a lot. She's just like a daughter to me and I can't imagine waking up and not having her around."

Melissa's mother, Luci, is now assigned to the Marines in Al Asad.

"Luci was working with Army Special Forces on the streets of Baghdad and over a period of time, she kept following them around whenever they went on patrols," the general said. "Luci was credited with saving their lives a couple of times because of her ability to sniff out an ambush and bark to alert them."

And, she looks good in camo:

Other Marine units have adopted dogs - or the dogs have adopted them. Last year, my son spent several months in Al Hillah. He and a few buddies were joined by Cody, a faithful friend and companion who patiently waited for them and accompanied them to and from post. They fed him from their MREs and, much to his disgust, gave him a bath. I added dog biscuits and flea treatment to my twice-weekly care packages. Here's a picture of my son with Cody. The ruins of Babylon are in the background - he walked through them every morning to get to his guard post.

Cody was a morale-boosting addition to Shane's platoon - many of them left pets behind when they deployed and they enjoyed the undemanding companionship that Cody provided.

Posted by Deb at May 6, 2004 08:37 AM

Comments

What ever happened to Leppellmier. I served with him 20 years ago.

Posted by: Ed Enders at October 4, 2006 04:56 PM