Dustin Lee
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Dustin Jerome Lee (April 7, 1986 – March 21, 2007) was a
corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
, serving as a dog handler and IED detector with his dog
Lex Lex or LEX may refer to: Computing * Amazon Lex, a service for building conversational interfaces into any application using voice and text * LEX (cipher), a stream cipher based on the round transformation of AES * Lex (software), a computer pro ...
. He and Lex were attacked by indirect fire at Company A's
forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may contain an airbase, hospital, machine shop, and othe ...
on March 21, 2007. A 73 mm rocket round exploding delivered a mortal wound to Lee, which also injured Lex.


Early life

Dustin Lee, son of
Mississippi Highway Patrol The Mississippi Highway Patrol is the highway patrol and acting state police agency for the U.S. state of Mississippi, and has law enforcement jurisdiction over the majority of the state. The Mississippi Highway Patrol specializes in the patrol ...
trooper Jerome Lee, was born on April 7, 1986, in
Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...
. From around five years old, Lee worked with rescue dogs by hiding in woods and allowing them to find him. According to his father, he was so moved by the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
that he signed up for the military before graduating high school. Lee grew up in
Quitman, Mississippi Quitman is a city in and the county seat of Clarke County, Mississippi, United States, along the Chickasawhay River. The population was 2,323 at the 2010 census. History Quitman was established in 1839 and named as the county seat. During the A ...
, and graduated from Quitman High School in 2004.


Military career and death

Lee finished first in his training class as a dog handler in 2005. Lee was awarded the "Top Dog" distinction for Block One Patrol Dog Handler's Course with his assigned dog LLeo. LLeo was a puppy program dog that was bred by the Department of Defense and because of Lee's training later was deployed as a patrol narcotics detector dog for the US military. He was noted by the kennel master, William W. Reynolds, to be "uncanny as a dog handler". Because of his abilities, Lee was once given two dogs to work with at once: an explosives dog and a narcotics dog. He was stationed at
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany is a United States Marine Corps base located just outside Albany, Georgia. The primary mission of the units on the base is to rebuild and repair ground combat and combat ground support equipment, support equipm ...
, HQ BN in
Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...
before his deployment to Iraq. Lee was promoted to the rank of Corporal in July 2006. He attached to
3rd Reconnaissance Battalion The 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion (3rd Recon) conducts Amphibious reconnaissance, amphibious and Terrestrial reconnaissance, ground reconnaissance in support of the 3rd Marine Division (United States), 3rd Marine Division and United States Marin ...
before the attack, and was serving in 3rd Battalion 14th Marines G Battery, 3rd platoon at the time of his death. On March 21, 2007, Company A's forward operating base was attacked by insurgents with indirect fire. Lee and Lex sustained shrapnel injuries when a 73 mm rocket exploded inside Lee's forward operating base. Cpl. Lee was medevaced from the area to a hospital, where he died shortly thereafter; Lex's injuries were not life-threatening. Lee was scheduled to return home in approximately six weeks.


Aftermath

Dustin Lee was interred at Stonewall Cemetery in
Stonewall, Mississippi Stonewall is a town in Clarke County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,088 at the 2010 census. History A cotton mill was established here in 1868. The town was named after Confederate Army General Stonewall Jackson. Stonewall's ...
on March 31, 2007. He was posthumously awarded the
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
,
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...
with Combat Distinguishing Device for Valor and the
Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is a United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or surface combat." Coast ...
. Lee's parents, aided by
United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
Walter Jones (R-NC) and an online petition, successfully asked the Marine Corps to allow Lex to retire early, making him the first fully fit military working dog granted early retirement and adoption by the Department of Defense to his former handler's family. After Lee's death, the
Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...
and
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
passed a
concurrent resolution A concurrent resolution is a resolution (a legislative measure) adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature that lacks the force of law (is non-binding) and does not require the approval of the chief executive ( president). Concurrent reso ...
honoring him. On March 19, 2010, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany renamed its kennel the "Corporal Dustin Jerome Lee Kennel". Lex died on March 25, 2012, as the result of cancer.


See also

*
Lex (dog) Lex (1999 – March 25, 2012) was a German Shepherd military working dog who served with the United States Marine Corps and became the first active-duty, fully fit military dog to be granted early retirement for adoption. Lex was wounded in Iraq ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Dustin J 1986 births 2007 deaths United States Marines Bomb disposal personnel American military personnel killed in the Iraq War People from Meridian, Mississippi People from Quitman, Mississippi United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War