We don’t always think of dogs when someone talks about true war heroes.
Instead we think of the brave men storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Fighting for every inch on the beaches or our brave men and women fighting terrorism overseas in the deserts of Afghanistan.
Although we may sometimes hear incredible stories of dogs that
smalljoys.point 10 | me/nero-the-hero/">dedicated their lives to protecting their fellow soldiers on the battlefield
If you ask any soldier who has served with these dogs, they will often sing praises of the dogs they worked with on the field.point 102 | point 102 | 1
It was during World War II, that a medal specifically designed for the animals who served bravely in the military and went above and beyond the call of duty. Since the creation of the award back in 1943, 31 dogs, 32 messenger pigeons, 3 horses and even one cat have all received the award.
The Dickin Medal is an incredibly prestigious award and one very special American military dog named Lucca was to be awarded it all the way in Great Britian, where she will be honored among the elite group of animals for their heroism.
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Lucca’s journey to the highest medal began small, when she initially meant her human partner, Gunnery Sgt.point 141 | Chris Willingham.point 157 | The two instantly hit it off when they went through months and months of intense training together.point 240 |
At the end both were prepared to head over to Afghanistan and help out their fellow soldiers in the fight against terrorism.point 103 | point 103 | 1
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Lucca immediately showed great talent and exceeded at her job.point 98 | On the battlefield, other soldiers instantly felt safer when she was around.point 163 | They could trust her to sniff out the enemy I.point 200 | E.point 202 |
Ds.point 3 | Often Lucca and her handler Chris would take point, which meant they were the ones in front of the group.point 89 | It’s an incredibly dangerous position to be, because you’re at the front of the group, but it’s important as well.point 202 |
Lucca and her handler Willingham were able to keep their squads safe.point 58 | 1
After just a few years in the field, Willingham decided to retire from military service and went home.point 296 |
Lucca, however, still had a few more years of work ahead of her so she was transferred to her next train, Cpl.point 89 | Juan Rodriguez.point 103 | While Lucca never forgot her original handler, she quickly got attached to Juan and the two became inseparable.point 197 | Things were looking really good for our hero Lucca.point 240 | 1
But sadly disaster was right around the corner. One day Lucca stumbled upon a hidden bomb. As her handler Juan was searching for other bombs, the first bomb unexpectedly detonated and Lucca was injured really badly!
Rodriguez rushed to evacuate injured Lucca out of the area and immediately called for a medic. Within mere minutes, a medical helicopter arrived as they began work on saving Lucca’s life. Lucca was treated like any other soldier as they did everything in their power to save her. As the military often says, we take care of our own.
Despite the best efforts of the doctors, Lucca’s front leg had to be amputated.point 225 |
It was very rough and she required a lot of care and attention but she was able to live through the ordeal.point 86 | During her entire stay in the medical unit, Rodriguez never once left her side.point 152 | He knew that if he was the one that was injured, Lucca would be sitting next to his side all the same.point 233 |
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As soon as Lucca was able to walk on her own again, she was eager to get out and work. However the injury was so severe that her military career was over. It was time for her to go back stateside and live out a relaxing life.
When Lucca finally arrived back home at the United States she received a huge hero’s welcome. That wasn’t all though! Thanks to an incredible program that reunites dogs with their old handlers when they’ve retired meant that Lucca was able to see her first handler, Chris Willingham and live out her life with him! Chris of course adopted Lucca and brought her back to his home where she would live out her life happy and relaxed like every hero should.
When word of this dog’s incredible work on the battlefield spread, she quickly became even more famous.point 347 |
On every single of her more than 400 patrols, never once did a human soldier ever get so much as a paper-cut.point 88 | She was that good at detecting I.point 115 | E.point 117 | Ds and other dangers.point 135 | Even in the blast that injured her greatly, she was the only victim.point 191 | With a track record like that, it’s hard to imagine people not wanting to spread her amazing skills!point 280 | 1
After word spread far and wide, Lucca and Willingham were invited to Great Britain where Lucca would be honored with a Dickin Medal at an amazing ceremony for her efforts. It turns out that Lucca was actually the very first Marine Corps dog to ever receive the coveted medal.
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If you look at the picture above, she actually looks incredibly happy to have the medal. It’s very well deserved happiness!
Both Willingham and Rodriguez are absolutely certain that if it wasn’t for Lucca and other dogs like her, they wouldn’t have survived over in the battlefield. Lucca and the countless other animals that protect our soldiers overseas are truly heroes.
We hope that Lucca will enjoy the rest of her life living with her Willingham and getting all of the best belly rubs and all of the love in the world. She absolutely deserves to enjoy every moment of her retirement.