The Last Bit Of Happiness He Had

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

MrsSpringsteen

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Messages
29,244
Location
Edge's beanie closet
capt.7d5709c452d446ad982715d65ca79979.iraq_puppy_wxs133.jpg


capt.c664532d11484e059ff2da231c99250e.iraq_puppy_nhcs101.jpg


Puppy helps tie family to slain soldier

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Fri May 25

The family of Army Spc. Justin Rollins feels a little better thanks to a puppy, fresh from a nearly 6,000-mile journey from Iraq, that connects them to one of the soldier's last happy moments.

Seeing photos of the 22-year-old nuzzling a puppy from a newborn litter the night before his death in a roadside bombing in Iraq prompted Rollins' family and girlfriend to start pushing to adopt Hero, who arrived in New Hampshire on Friday.

"It was the last bit of happiness Justin had," said Rollins' girlfriend, Brittney Murray.

Rollins and some other soldiers from the 82nd Airborne found the puppies outside an Iraqi police station March 4 but weren't allowed to bring them back into their barracks. Rollins was killed the next day in Samarra.

After Murray saw the photos, she sought help finding the short-haired dog. U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes contacted the U.S. Central Command, which ordered the 82nd to retrieve the pup and turn it over to delivery company DHL.

Hero was named as a reminder of the man who planned to propose to Murray on his next visit home, she and Rollins' mother said.

The female pup arrived Thursday night at Kennedy International Airport in New York, visited a veterinarian and arrived in New Hampshire overnight. The floppy-eared pooch — mostly white, with brown spots along the right side of its muzzle and paws still too big for its 15-pound body — was a hit Friday as she sniffed around Hodes' office, pausing to piddle on the carpet.

Whether the mixed-breed puppy is definitely the one in the photo didn't matter. Several people claimed credit for the dog's name, but everyone agreed it was a fitting tribute to Rollins, whose parents said he was always an animal lover.

"We have a dog and three cats at home. When he was little, they all were on his bed," said his mother, Rhonda.

Rollins was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with a baseball signed by Red Sox player David Ortiz, who met him last summer shortly before Rollins' unit was deployed.
 
Back
Top Bottom