[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13114]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            AKC PROJECT 7-4

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, on July 8, I had the privilege of visiting 
the American Kennel Club in Raleigh, North Carolina, where care 
packages were being prepared to be sent to our K-9 units overseas. The 
effort is called Project 7-4.
  Project 7-4 is an effort to help the United States War Dog 
Association collect much-needed supplies for both dogs and their 
handlers to send over to our active duty dog teams in Afghanistan and 
Iraq. It was very touching for me to see all the boxes being prepared 
by people who care so much. I was absolutely amazed by everything I saw 
that day at the American Kennel Club in Raleigh, North Carolina.
  Last year I had the great opportunity to watch some of these valuable 
dogs being trained at Lackland Air Force Base. Lackland is the center 
for all the training of all these dogs that help our men and women in 
uniform.
  Through the years that I have been in Congress, I have had the 
pleasure and honor to talk to many military dog handlers, some that go 
back to the Vietnam War, some to Desert Storm, and certainly many who 
have been in Iraq and Afghanistan. These dogs are so valuable because 
they are trained to sniff out the IEDs that kill so many and maim so 
many of our wonderful men and women in uniform.
  These dogs themselves many times are wounded, and many times killed. 
But as I had a soldier tell me one time, Yes, it breaks my heart. This 
has become my friend, this has become my buddy. But you know what? My 
buddy is willing to give his life for me so that I can continue to 
serve this Nation.
  I bring that story forward, Madam Speaker, because these dogs are 
truly heroes, these dogs are truly valuable to the national security of 
our country. And I have beside me a poster that has the dog named Lex. 
Lex is looking at the headstone of his master, Marine Corporal Dustin 
Lee, who was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq. He was a dog 
handler, and this was his friend, his dog Lex. Lex himself has shrapnel 
in the back. And the family, the Lee family, wanted so badly to have 
Lex, since they gave their son up for this country. And I want to thank 
Mike Regner, United States Marine Corps, for helping this become a 
reality. Madam Speaker, when Dustin was killed and Lex was wounded, the 
Marine Corps told me that they found Lex laying next to the body of his 
master.
  War dogs have been used in every war throughout history. There are 
currently between 500 and 700 dog teams stationed in the Middle East. 
This is not a new concept, but it is time that these dogs and their 
handlers are acknowledged for their sacrifice to this country.
  I would like to thank the United States War Dog Association for all 
they do and for helping the American Kennel Club with this tremendous 
effort. I also encourage anyone who would like to donate to this effort 
to contact the American Kennel Club or United States War Dog 
Association. Both dogs and handlers are in need of basic daily items 
that we all take for granted.
  Madam Speaker, as I begin to close I would like to ask God, as I 
always do on this floor, to please bless our men and women in uniform, 
ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform, 
ask God in his loving arms to hold the families who have given a child 
dying for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan, and ask God to please bless 
the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God, 
and ask God to give wisdom, strength, and courage to President Obama 
that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for the American 
people.
  And I will close by asking three times, God, please, God, please, 
God, please continue to bless America.

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