Cpl. Dustin J. Lee, 20, Stonewall, MS (Iraq)

[vanmac]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 325-06 March 22, 2007

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cpl. Dustin J. Lee, 20, of Quitman, Miss., died March 21 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lee was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga. <<< from The Meridian Star, Meridian, MS, March 23, 2007 >>> Mississippi loses another son Stonewall soldier killed in Iraq By Brian Livingston / staff Writer Jerome Lee of Stonewall has been a trooper for Troop H of the Mississippi Highway Patrol since 1982. He can still vividly remember his six-year old son, Dustin, playing in his patrol car. “He always wanted to call the dispatcher on the radio to tell them I was in service,” said Jerome Lee Thursday afternoon. “I let him play with the siren and lights some. He wanted to become a state trooper.” But Dustin Jerome Lee won’t be able to fulfill his dream of being a trooper and following in his father’s footsteps. Dustin Lee, 20, died earlier this week serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq — six weeks before he was expected to return home. The Lee family was notified Tuesday of their sacrifice by Marine Corps officials. “He was a very focused, intense individual,” said the elder Lee by phone. “He always excelled in everything he set out to do. He had his whole life mapped out.” Dustin Lee was serving in the 3/14 G Battery, 3rd platoon in Falluja when he was killed. Jerome Lee said his son died of injuries suffered in a mortar attack. “He was hit in the chest with shrapnel from the blast and was medi-vaced out of the area to a hospital,” said Jerome Lee. “He died a little while later.” The two men talked the day before Dustin Lee was killed. Jerome Lee said his son was sounding upbeat and in high spirits. “Maybe it was the knowledge he was coming home in about six weeks. I don’t know. But he left me a voice message on my answering machine before he went out on his last mission,” Jerome Lee said. Jerome Lee played back the message left by his son. In the message, Dustin Lee said he just wanted to call before he headed out and to tell everyone he loved them. “He said he’d talk to us later,” Jerome Lee said. Dustin Lee, according to his father, loved to ride dirt bikes, a sport Dustin Lee picked up from his younger brother, Camryn Lee. Jerome Lee said Camryn and Dustin’s sister Madyson, were doing as well as could be expected with the news of the death. Jerome Lee is trying to grapple with the loss of his eldest son. Nonetheless, he is still proud of the boy who once sat in his patrol car and wanted to follow his daddy into serving others. “He always wanted to help other people,” said Jerome Lee. “He loved his country and was proud to be a Marine.” Asked, despite the devastating loss, if he was proud of his son’s service to his country and his sacrifice Jerome Lee replied quietly, “Most definitely. I’m very proud of him.”

[jinelson]

Slow hand salute! Semper Fi brother your duty done. Thank you for giving your last full measure of devotion to your Country and Corps.

Jim

[jinelson]

Family members and command representatives stand in honor of Cpl. Dustin J. Lee during a ceremony April 5 at the Base Chapel. Those standing are (l-r) Camryn Lee (Lee’s brother), Rachel Lee (mother), Madyson Lee (sister), Jerome Lee (father), Col. C. N. Haliday, base commanding officer, and Sgt. Maj. Randall D. Kennedy, base sergeant major.
Photo submitted 04/12/2007 Taken by Joel C. Guenther

[LcplRich]

Thank you for posting. Cpl Lee's family greatly appreciates our extended Marine Corps family through this time. Thank you MCLB Albany for all that you have helped us with.
-Lcpl Brian Rich former Marine and Dustin's uncle

[yellowwing]

God Bless you and your nephew, a fine Marine.

[OLE SARG]

Rest In Peace Cpl Lee. May God Bless You And Your Family.

Semper Fi,

[sgt tony]

We have another Marine watching over us now and He will keep us safe.
I know the family will miss him but he will be with them as long as they remember that he is there. God Bless you and your family.

[vanmac]

Marines let family adopt slain son's bomb-sniffing dog
12/12/2007, 1:06 p.m. CST
By RUSS BYNUM
The Associated Press

(AP) — A Georgia-based military dog wounded in Iraq by an explosion that killed its Marine handler will be released from duty so it can be adopted by the slain Marine's family, the Marine Corps said Wednesday.

The adoption of the 8-year-old German shepherd, Lex, by the family of fallen Marine Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee marks the first time the U.S. military has granted early retirement to a working dog so it could live with a former handler's family, officials said.

Lee's family from Quitman, Miss., is scheduled to pick up Lex from the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga., on Dec. 21 — exactly nine months after a rocket-propelled grenade killed Lee and wounded Lex in Fallujah on March 21.

"We knew that's what Dustin would have wanted out of this," said Jerome Lee, the slain Marine's father. "He knew that we would take care of Lex and love him, just like our own."

The Lee family lobbied the military for months to allow it to adopt Lex. Though some shrapnel remains lodged in his back, Lex has otherwise recovered from his wounds and has been serving alongside military policemen at the Albany base since July.

The U.S. military has about 2,000 dogs that work alongside American troops, and their bomb-sniffing skills have been in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Congress passed a law in 2000 allowing aging or disabled military dogs to be adopted by police departments, former handlers and possibly civilians if the dogs aren't too aggressive. And an Air Force dog handler who was seriously wounded in Iraq in 2005 was allowed to adopt her bomb-sniffing dog after returning home.

But 2nd Lt. Caleb Eames, a spokesman for the Marine base in Albany, said Lex is the first able-bodied dog the military has released to a former handler's family.

"Obviously their situation is very unique," Eames said of the Lee family. "The military is proud to have dogs like Lex, but even more happy to be able to assuage the family's grief."
___
Russ Bynum has covered the military based in Georgia since 2001.

[jah4tol]

god bless and semper fi,