Love and hope often arrive in the strangest places and in the strangest ways. During his tour of duty in Iraq, Lt. Colonel Jay Kopelman of the U.S. Marines suffered the emotional ravages common for those involved in the bloody battle for Fallujah. Breaking the strict military rules forbidding pets, Kopelman and his comrades adopted an abandoned puppy left behind after the battle in the dangerous red zone. The dog (named Lava) befriended the marines and journalists, and was eventually smuggled out of Iraq by the soldiers, with the help of NPR reporters, ABC cameramen, Iraqi citizens, and the Iams Pet Food Company. Presents the story of Marine Jay Kopelman's efforts to have Lava, a dog found in Fallujah, sent to the United States, at the same time focusing on Iraqi political corruption, miltary bureaucracy, and the sufferings of ordinary Iraqis who have become the innocent victims of the war. A war memoir that will capture the hearts of its readers, just as one scruffy puppy sneaked his way into the hearts of hardened Marines just when they needed it most.
war memoir that will capture the hearts of its readers, just as a scruffy puppy snuck his way into the hearts of hardened Marines just when they needed it most
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