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The Hammer

Marine military working dog Thor

Thor, a yellow Labrador retriever, who is a military working dog with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., recently completed Enhanced Mojave Viper predeployment training with his handler.

Thor looks like a sweetheart. While not trained for protection (I’m just assuming here) Thor would be trained really well for explosives. Watching these dogs work on a scent trail that people cannot see, smell, taste or touch is an amazing thing to do.

Photo by Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl

A Memorial to Colton Rusk

Marine PFS Colton Rusk & MWD Eli

Marine Pfc. Colton Rusk, 20, was shot on Dec. 6, 2010, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, I Marine Expeditionary Force based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, he was only six weeks into his first deployment. His dog, Eli, a black Laborador retriever, was not injured. Eli had crawled on top of Pfc. Rusk’s body during the firefight to shield him. The Defense Department allowed Pfc. Rusk’s family to adopt Eli.

Rest in peace, young Marine.

Thanks to Dennis Herrick for sharing his memorial information.