Pat was the name of the dog who was the mascot of the 314th Infantry from 1918 to his death in Sunbury, Pennsylvania in 1932. After his death, Pat was taken to a taxidermist and then delivered to the Log Cabin at Valley Forge. A few years ago, he was again delivered to a taxidermist in the area for refreshing, after over 60 years in the museum. Pat has returned and continues to reside with the rest of the 314th items and plaque.

Pat was found by the men of Company "M" after an attack on the Germans. The Germans apparently had abandoned the dog as they retreated. As the story goes, he was taken back to Company "M" but he just continued to refuse to make friends with any of them. He glowered at them, snapped and showed his teeth. They tried to win him over by kindness but when that didn't work they resorted to harshness and even beatings, but nothing seemed to work. Finally one of the members of the Regiment who spoke German asked whether he might try his hand with him. The soldier said a few words to Pat in German and the dog instantly obeyed. The soldier even taught him the German manual of arms. They took him out at guard mount and he performed as a regular soldier. By that time he was the idol of the Regiment. He lived on the cream of the land. He dined on pork chops and chicken from the Officer's Mess. The enlisted men were often tempted to cry foul.

When the time came to go home, orders went out that no pets were to be taken back to the United States. The Company laid plans to get Pat out of France by any and all means. One of the Officers smuggled Pat on board the Princess Matoika and their plan seemed on the way to success. For a time the Red Cross girls stole Pat away, but the Company got him back. Pat was also imprisoned for a time in the Guard House. Later he had his own suite in a Philadelphia hotel, and finally he broke the Pennsylvania Railroad's rule against pets riding in their coaches and arrived aboard the Day Coach to Sunbury.

His comrades never forgot him and he always had a friendly greeting for them at the Reunions he attended. He had learned to respond to English as well as German and answered questions by wagging the stub of his tail. He learned many tricks, such as jumping through a hoop and shaking hands. When the Star Spangled Banner was played, he would respond with a wag of his tail.

While in Sunbury, Pat stayed with his pal, John Stroh of Company "M" for a number of years until John was forced to move to Belvidere, New Jersey, for his health. By that time, Pat had developed a strong fondness for Mr. Stroh.s landlady in Sunbury, Mrs. Leo Finch, so he remained with her.

Thus, after the roar of the battle was over and he was safely settled down in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Pat continued a quiet and well ordered life of ease and retirement, the likes of which many a wounded veteran might envy.

Iraq war dog to retire with fallen Marine's family

Story Highlights

• Attack in Iraq kills Marine Cpl. Dustin Lee, injures military dog Lex
• Lex didn't want to leave Lee's side despite his injuries
• Lee's family succeeds in adopting Lex after lobbying for months
• Lex officially retires from military Friday to live with Lee family in Mississippi

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-- A U.S. military dog whose handler and best friend was killed in Iraq got a new assignment on Friday -- retirement with the late Marine's family.

It took the family months of lobbying to get the adoption approved by the military.

Lex was beside Cpl. Dustin Lee when Lee was killed in a mortar attack in Falluja.

In spite of his injuries, the dog didn't want to leave Lee's side after the attack, according to the Marine's father. Other Marines reportedly had to pull the dog away from the young man's body so medics could reach him.

Although some shrapnel remains in his body, Lex recovered from his wounds and returned to duty at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia.

Friday, the 8-year-old bomb-sniffing German shepherd was turned over to Lee's family to live out the rest of his life in Quitman, Mississippi.

"This is to certify that military working dog Lex, having served faithfully and honorably, was ischarged from the United States Marine Corps on this 21st day of December 2007," a Marine read at a ceremony interrupted by occasional barks.

Afterward, Jerome Lee, Dustin Lee's father, crouched down and shook Lex's paw.

Lex seemed oblivious to his 15 minutes of fame as he lay at the feet of a Marine during most of the ceremony.

Jerome Lee had lobbied hard for months to adopt the dog. Marine officials initially told Lee that it would be no problem to get the dog. But persuading the service to give up Lex before the dog's mandatory retirement at age 10 proved to be a challenge.

"Since Dustin's death we've been trying to get his dog, Lex, from the Marine Corps, and needless to say we've had some difficulty there," said Lee, a Mississippi Highway Patrol officer. "This thing went from colonels to generals all the way up to the commandant of the Marine Corps, and it almost went to the secretary of defense."

One issue was making sure the dog was not "overly aggressive." His behavior with the Lee youngsters -- Lex played tug of war with 13-year-old Camryn at his brother's funeral -- seemed to assure that wouldn't be a problem. Marine officials also said the request had to go through the Air Force, which is the approving authority for all military dogs.

Finally, on December 13, the Marines agreed to let Lex go live with Lee's family. It was the first time the Marines have released a dog before its retirement to a former handler's family.

"Lex has had two tours in Iraq," Jerome Lee said. "He's been through a lot, and we just want to get Lex home to our family and let him have a happy life."

Well before joining the Marines, Dustin Lee was known for his devotion to his country. A member of Quitman High School's cross-country track team, Lee and three teammates participated in the Americans United: Flag Across America Run after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

It was no surprise when the young man joined the Marines out of high school in 2004, nor when he went to Albany to train military police dogs. He reportedly was inspired by his mother's work with search and rescue team dogs when he was a boy.

An animal lover who also rode horses, the boy played hide-and-seek with his mother's dog, Jerome Lee said.

"He would let the dog get a sniff of his clothing and then go hide to see if the dog could find him," the elder Lee said.

At the logistics base in Albany, Lee said, he "worked with all the dogs and became the kennel master."

The Marine and Lex had been stationed in Falluja for nearly five months before the fatal attack. When the Marine's body was returned to Quitman in March, hundreds lined the streets waving American flags to say a tearful goodbye. And Lex was there.

In Albany on Thursday, kennel master Mike Reynolds led Lex through his paces for the last time in his military career. But it's time for the old pro to learn some new tricks in civilian life.

Jerome Lee said he hopes Lex's presence will make his other two children feel closer to their missing older brother.

"There's always going to be that missing link with Dusty gone," he said. "But part of Dusty is here with Lex."

• Story Highlights
• U.S. soldier adopted dog in Iraq; military prohibits such adoption
• Military took dog during soldier's first attempt to send it home, group says
• Dog helped soldier cope with her deployment, group says
• Animal could be in Minnesota by Wednesday

Operation Baghdad Pups, which said the U.S. military prevented its first attempt to take Ratchet the dog on October 1, picked up the animal in Baghdad with military clearance and flew it to Kuwait on Sunday.

The dog is expected to be flown to Washington on Monday, and if a veterinarian determines it is healthy, sent to Sgt. Gwen Beberg's home state on Wednesday, Baghdad Pups publicist Larry Garrison said.

Beberg, who adopted the dog after soldiers rescued it from a burning trash pile in May, tried to have the group fly Ratchet to the United States on October 1 as her deployment neared an end.

But the military, which prohibits soldiers from adopting pets abroad and bringing them to the United States, confiscated the animal after Beberg put it on a convoy bound for Baghdad Airport, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which runs OBP.

Ratchet and Beberg, 28, drew the attention of thousands of people who signed two online petitions -- linked through the SPCA's Web site -- urging the military to let Ratchet go to the United States.

The military cleared OBP to take Ratchet on Wednesday, but not in time for the group's flight from Baghdad that day, the SPCA said.

On Sunday, private security contractors took Ratchet from a base to the airport, where OBP -- which works with soldiers to help them bring adopted animals home -- put Ratchet on the charter flight to Kuwait, Garrison said.

Northwest Airlines will donate the flights from Kuwait to Minnesota, Garrison said.

The SPCA said Ratchet helped Beberg deal with her Iraq deployment, which started in September 2007 and is scheduled to end in November.

"She was absolutely miserable in the war and was really struggling to keep going every day. Ratchet turned it around for her," SPCA spokeswoman Stephanie Scroggs said last week.

Beberg's mother, Patricia Beberg, in a statement released by the SPCA, said Ratchet "was the savior of her [daughter's] sanity" in Iraq.

SPCA representatives said the military euthanizes some animals that it confiscates, and that Gwen Beberg worried that Ratchet would be killed.

Beberg was thrilled to hear last week that the military would let OBP take Ratchet, the SPCA said.

"Your persistence and amazing work has astonished me throughout this whole thing," Gwen Beberg said in an e-mail to the SPCA, according to the society.

Scroggs said one of Beberg's friends helped spread the news about Ratchet through blogs. One of the petitions, which had more than 65,000 signatures as of Sunday night, was started by a blogger, Scroggs said.

The SPCA says although active-duty soldiers aren't allowed to adopt animals in the Middle East, many soldiers befriend animals in the course of their service there.

Garrison said the program relies on donations, saying it generally costs $3,000 to $4,000 to bring a servicemember's animal to the United States.

"This isn't a one-time story This is a program making a difference for our soldiers," Garrison said.