Corporal Megan Leavey (born October 28, 1983) is a former active duty

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 ...

corporal who served as a

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

K9 handler.

Life and career

Leavey enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 2003 and completed recruit training at the

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

.National Purple Heart Honor Mission, Megan Leavey
/ref> Afterwards, she attended and completed the Military Police school in San Antonio, Texas, where she joined the K-9 program and was paired with a

military working dog Dogs have a very long history in warfare, beginning in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied, and some continue to exist in modern milit ...

named "Rex" (E168) in October 2004.Iohud. "Real-life Megan Leavey talks about the Marines and Sgt, Rex", June 2/9, 2017
/ref> Leavey was stationed next at

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by ...

, California, assigned as a military police dog handler with the 2nd Military Police Battalion,

II Marine Expeditionary Force The II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force consisting of ground, air and logistics forces capable of projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a ...

(FWD). The pair served two deployments in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

together, first to

Fallujah Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...

in May 2005, and then to

Ramadi Ramadi ( ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate which shares borders with Syri ...

in May 2006, where she and the

German Shepherd The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German Dog breed, breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various Old German herding dogs, traditional German herding dog ...

were both wounded the following September by an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(IED) while she and her dog were leading a U.S. Army patrol down a street. Leavey was 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, ...

. Leavey first sought to adopt Rex before she was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in December 2007 with the rank of corporal. Four years later, when Rex developed

facial palsy Facial nerve paralysis is a common problem that involves the paralysis of any structures innervated by the facial nerve. The pathway of the facial nerve is long and relatively convoluted, so there are a number of causes that may result in facial ...

that ended his bomb-sniffing duties, Leavey again petitioned the Marine Corps for his adoption. In April 2012, "Sergeant Rex" was retired by the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton's K-9 unit and Leavey and the dog were reunited through the intervention and support of Senator

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

Randy Levine Randy Lewis Levine (born February 22, 1955) is an American attorney, the current president of the New York Yankees baseball club and a member of the Board of Directors of A.C. Milan S.p.A. Early life Levine, a Jewish American, was born in Brookl ...

and his wife Mindy, president of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

baseball club, and others. While living with Leavey, Rex died of old age on December 22, 2012. Leavey and Rex became the subject of the 2017 biographical film '' Megan Leavey''. Leavey is portrayed by

Kate Mara Kate Rooney Mara ( ; born February 27, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for her work in television, playing reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama '' House of Cards'' (2013–2014; 2016), computer analyst Shari Rothenber ...

, and had a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in the film as "Female Drill Instructor #3". In 2019, she was one of two recipients of the Genesis Legacy Medal which was presented to her by the National Purple Heart Honor Mission. File:USMC-14402.jpg, Lance Corporal Leavey with Rex in Iraq, November 2005

Military awards

Leavey received the following decorations and awards:

Other honors

* Leavey and Rex were honored during a pregame ceremony at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

on May 13, 2012. * Leavey received

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state' ...

's first annual "Freedom Award" on March 19, 2013. * A new dog park "Clarkstown K-9 Corrals" was dedicated to Leavey and Rex (and the Clarkstown Police K-9's) at Congers Lake Memorial Park in

Congers, New York Congers is a suburban hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Valley Cottage, east of New City, across Lake DeForest, south of Haverstraw, and west of the ...

, on September 21, 2018.

References

External links

* * * Nation K9 Veterans DayMuseum of the American G.I., "K9 Veterans Day"
/ref> {{DEFAULTSORT:Leavey, Megan 1983 births Living people Female United States Marine Corps personnel United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War People from Valley Cottage, New York Military personnel from California 21st-century American women United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers