The 45th Anniversary of Saigon's Fall

Forty years ago, on April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace, and hoisted the communist flag. It was an incredible victory for the revolutionary forces that had waged guerrilla warfare for more than a decade against the better equipped US forces, and before that, against the French colonialists. Known as "national liberation and unification" day, it been celebrated on its Anniversary ever since.

For the US and its South Vietnamese allies, however, the day was one of panic, chaos, and defeat known simply as the fall of Saigon. 

Months before the 40th Anniversary, ambitious plans were made for a huge celebratory parade on Thursday, April 30, 2015. Several months before the event, colorful banners and signs with some that read "Long Live the Glorious Communist Party of Vietnam" were scattered throughout the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. 

On Thursday morning, after much preparation, the commemorative parade began on time with a huge military parade marking the moment communist tanks smashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace, ending a divisive and bloody war that delivered a painful blow to American morale and military prestige. 

Thousands of Vietnamese, including war veterans in uniforms heavy with medals, lined up to watch regiments of goose-stepping soldiers in dress uniform march past all the country's flag-waving top leadership as a marching band played. Elaborate floats, including one bearing a giant portrait of founding president Ho Chi Minh, made their way slowly through the city streets of Ho Chi Minh City. 

During Thursday's festivities, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung praised the victory as one of"ardent patriotism" and national reunification. "I call on Vietnamese people at home and abroad to uphold the sense of patriotism, the tradition of humanity and tolerance; to rise above the past and differences; to sincerely engage in national reconciliation," he said.

Prime Minister Dung also slammed what he referred to as Washington's "countless barbarous crimes" that he said caused "immeasurable losses and pain to our people and country," according to the French news agency. 

No US diplomats attended the parade. However, after the government's parade and celebratory speeches were over, a group of former U.S. Marines who helped Americans evacuate Saigon as it fell attended a separate, small ceremony at the US Consulate - site of the old US Embassy - to remember US troops who died during the final days of the war. They dedicated a plaque to two fallen comrades who were the last US servicemen killed in the war: Cpl. Charles McMahon and Lance Cpl. Darwin Judge died April 29, 1975, when their post near the airport was hit by a rocket. Each of the former Marines placed roses in front of the monument before saluting it as taps played.

"We lost ..., and I felt that way for a long time," said one of the last Marines out who attended the event. "I was ashamed that we left people behind like that. I did what I could, so I'm satisfied with my own performance, but as a nation, I think we could have done better. And I hope we can learn from that, but I don't think we've seen that."

The conflict - which killed millions of its people as well as 58,000 American servicemen - is bitterly divisive in the US and still haunts our country. As the first Cold War conflict to be extensively covered by the Western media, it remains seared into the public imagination, most often as a tragic waste. 

For the Vietnamese who once viewed the war as one for national liberation and unification, many now believe that the war was a tragic event during which Vietnamese killed other Vietnamese in what is sometimes considered as a civil war. The communist party is no longer seen as patriotic or invincible. 

Despite their bitter past, economic and military ties between the US and Vietnam have improved in recent years. Thursday was also the 20th Anniversary since the two countries normalized relations in 1995. More than 16,000 Vietnamese students now study in America, and the US has become one of Vietnam's biggest foreign investors. Bilateral trade exceeded $36 billion last year.

The country still tightly controls the press and cracks down on political dissidents. It jails those who dare to speak out for democracy, including in blogs on the Internet. But much has changed since the early days after the war when Vietnam was plunged into severe poverty and isolation during failed collective farming policies. 

As for the parade on April 30, 2015, many Vietnamese thought it was a waste of money and that the fall of Saigon happened too many years ago to be relevant.

Today, Ho Chi Minh City is alive with capitalism, and many of the scars from the war are no longer visible on the surface. It is the economic muscle of the country, and recent and ongoing construction projects have transformed its skyline into glassy high-rises bathed in neon lights. 

But much of the old traditions remain. The sidewalks are still filled with generations of families hustling out of small shops to earn money while elderly women peddle the country's famous pho noodle soup from street stalls.

The two countries have also hosted high-level visits, and Vietnam has welcomed military cooperation and visiting US naval ships. China continues to spar with Hanoi and other neighbors over disputed islands in the South China Sea in what is viewed as a growing maritime threat in the region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxr9zVzUmns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PphGZx2HsWk

Battle Chronicles- The Battle of Gettysburg

Gen. Robert E. Lee led his Army of North Virginia only two times into the North throughout the American Civil War. The winner of the first battle was inconclusive; the second determined the winner of the war.  

The first battle fought on northern soil took place in September 1862, when Gen. Robert E. Lee's army invaded Maryland. It was near Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland where his Army of Northern Virginia was confronted by Maj. Gen. George McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting resulted in halting Lee's invasion, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without obstruction from the cautious McClellan who offered no pursuit. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield, making it, in military terms, a Union victory. Antietam was also the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined total of nearly 23,000 dead, wounded, and missing.

Eleven months after the Battle of Antietam in the spring of 1863, Lee's army faced off Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's Union forces at Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It was in this battle where Lee's most trusted general, Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was killed. 

Like McClellan, Hooker was risk-averse and hesitated to push his men into battle. The results were a shattering victory for Lee. Beaming with confidence in his Confederate Army, Lee decided to on the offensive and invade the North for a second time. In addition to bringing the conflict from war-ravaged northern Virginia and diverting northern troops from Vicksburg, where the Confederates were under siege, Lee's hoped if he won on Union territory then the North would have to surrender and possibly induce European countries to recognize the Confederacy. An additional motive for invading the North was to draw much of the occupying Union forces out of the South back to the North so southern farmers could harvest summer crops unimpeded.

Lee's second invasion of the North began in June 1983 when he led his 75,000 man army through the Shenandoah Valley and crossed the Potomac River into Maryland and marched on into southern Pennsylvania.

Prodded by President Abraham Lincoln, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit, but having lost confidence in his leadership compounded by his reluctance to confront Lee's army after the defeat at Chancellorsville, Lincoln relieved him of his command. He then appointed Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade to succeed Hooker. Meade immediately ordered the pursuit of Lee's Army.

Day 1: July 1, 1863. Upon learning that the Army of the Potomac was on its way, Lee planned to assemble his army in the flourishing crossroads town of Gettysburg, 35 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

One of the Confederate divisions in Maj. Gen. Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill's command approached the town in search of supplies, only to discover two Union cavalry brigades had arrived the previous day. Gen. John Buford, commander of Meade's advance cavalry, recognized the strategic importance of Gettysburg as a road center and was prepared to hold it until reinforcements arrived. But as the bulk of both armies headed toward Gettysburg, Confederate forces were able to drive the outnumbered Union defenders back through town to Cemetery Hill, located a half-mile to the south. A quick defensive position was thrown together in case A.P. Hill's men were in pursuit. However, they remained in Gettysburg awaiting further orders. 

Seeking to press his advantage before more Union troops could arrive, Lee gave discretionary orders to Gen. Richard S. Ewell to attack Cemetery Hill. Ewell had taken command of the Army of Northern Virginia's Second Corps after Lee's most trusted general, Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, was mortally wounded at Chancellorsville. By dusk, a Union corps under Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock had arrived and extended the defensive line along Cemetery Ridge to the hill known as Little Round Top. Overnight three more Union corps arrived to strengthen its defenses. 

The first day of battle saw considerable fighting in the area. Union soldier's use of newly issued Spencer repeating carbines outgunned the Confederate muskets. Heavy casualties were felt on each side and the simultaneous conclusion by both commanders that Gettysburg was the place to not only fight a defining battle but that the outcome would probably determine the winner of the war.

Day 2: July 2, 1863. With the arrival of reinforcements, the Union Army had established strong positions from Culp's Hill to Cemetery Ridge. The day was filled with futile and bloody assault and counterattacks in an attempt to gain control of such locations as Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill, Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, and the Peach Orchard. There were once again heavy losses on both sides. 

Concerned with a lack of momentum and only small victories, Lee read over maps and reports from his frontline generals. After personally scouting out Union positions and strengths, he came up with a strategy that he felt would change the course of battle in his favor. He determined that a massive frontal attack with the superior forces on Union entrenchments would win the battle. 

When he went over the plans with his most defensively minded second-in-command, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, he learned Longstreet had concerns over the plan. Longstreet told Lee throwing the majority of his forces in one assault over a large open field into the guns of an enemy holding the high ground was too risky. With his mind made up, Lee discarded Longstreet's argument and ordered him to lead an attack on the Union left, while Ewell's corps would strike the right, near Culp's Hill. Though his orders were to attack as early in the day as possible, Longstreet didn't get his men into position until 4 pm, when they opened fire on the Union corps commanded by Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles.

Over the next several hours, bloody fighting raged along Sickles' line, which stretched from the nest of boulders known as Devil's Den into a peach orchard, as well as in a nearby wheat field and on the slopes of Little Round Top. Thanks to fierce fighting by one Minnesota regiment, the Union forces were able to hold Little Round Top but lost the orchard field and Devil's Den. Sickles himself was seriously wounded. 

Ewell's men had advanced on the Union forces at Culp's Hill and East Cemetery Hill in coordination with Longstreet's 4 pm attack, but Union forces had stalled their attack by dusk. Both armies suffered extremely heavy losses on July 2, with 9,000 or more casualties on each side. The combined casualty total from two days of fighting came to nearly 35,000, the largest two-day toll of the war.

Day 3: July 3, 1863. Early in the morning, Union forces of the Twelfth Army Corps pushed back a Confederate threat against Culp's Hill after a seven-hour firefight and regained their strong position. Believing his men had been on the brink of victory the day before and despite Longstreet's protests, Lee was determined to attack the middle of the Union defenses. Maj. Gen. George Edward Pickett was tasked with marching 15,000 Confederate troops some three-quarters of a mile across open fields to attack 10,000 dug-in Union infantrymen. This assault would go down in history as "Pickett's Charge."

At 3 pm, following an artillery bombardment by some 150 Confederate guns, Pickett moved his three divisions against the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. The Southern spearhead broke through and penetrated the ridge, but there it could do no more. Critically weakened by artillery during their approach, formations hopelessly tangled, lacking reinforcement, and under savage attack from three sides, the Southerners retreated, leaving 19 battle flags and hundreds of prisoners.

Union infantry opened fire on the advancing rebels from behind stone walls, while regiments from Vermont, New York and Ohio hit both of the enemy's flanks. Caught from all sides, barely half of the Confederates survived, and Pickett's division lost two-thirds of its men. As the survivors stumbled back to their opening position, Lee and Longstreet scrambled to shore up their defensive line after the failed assault. 

In the end, Confederate efforts at Gettysburg revealed an army plagued with command problems and an extended, five-mile-long battle line. Lee's incomparable infantry could not overcome those crippling handicaps. 

With his hopes of a victorious invasion of the North dashed, Lee waited for a Union counterattack on July 4, but it never came. That night, taking advantage of heavy rain, he started retreating toward Virginia. His defeat stemmed from overconfidence in his troops, Ewell's inability to fill the boots of Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, and faulty reconnaissance. 

Though the cautious Meade would be criticized for not pursuing the enemy after Gettysburg, the battle was a crushing defeat for the Confederacy. Union casualties in the battle numbered 23,000, while the Confederates had lost some 28,000 men - more than a third of Lee's army. The North rejoiced while the South mourned, its hopes for foreign recognition of the Confederacy erased.

Demoralized by the defeat at Gettysburg, Lee offered his resignation to President Jefferson Davis but was refused. Though the great Confederate general would go on to win other victories, the Battle of Gettysburg (combined with Ulysses S. Grant's victory at Vicksburg, also on July 4, 1863) irrevocably turned the tide of the Civil War in the Union's favor.

Losses were among the wars heaviest: of 88,000 Northern troops, casualties numbered about 23,000 (with more than 3,100 killed); of 75,000 Southerners, there were between 20,000 and 28,000 casualties (with more than 4,500 killed). Dedication of the National Cemetery at the site in November 1863 was the occasion of Pres. Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

To view a short clip of Picket's Charge from the movie Gettysburg, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSraOEtrhWY
To view a 1 Hour 25 Minute documentary on the Battle of Gettysburg go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkmMYUcixhA

Military Facts and Legends: Heroines of the Revolutionary War

Since various "Molly Pitcher" tales grew in the telling, some historians regard Molly Pitcher as folklore rather than history. In contrast, others suggest it may be a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women who carried water to men on the battlefield during the war. However, historical records and eye witness accounts identify two women by name whose battlefield bravery marks them as genuine Molly Pitchers. They were Mary Ludwig Hays and Margaret Cochran Corbin.

Mary Ludwig, born in 1754, was the daughter of a New Jersey dairy farmer. At the age of 13, she went to work as a domestic servant, and that same year married a barber by the name of William Hays. When the Revolutionary War began, William enlisted in the Pennsylvania Artillery and became a gunner. Like hundreds of other wives of enlisted men, Mary followed her husband into battle and contributed actively by rendering such valuable services as laundering and nursing.
 
In early December 1777, as winter began to set in, General George Washington pulled his troops from White March - the site of the Continental Army's last battle - to a more secure winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Likes thousands of others, Mary and William struggled through the bitter winter at Valley Forge, where starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed nearly 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778. At the end of winter and the beginning of summer, Washington moved his forces to New Jersey on June 18, 1778, to begin a new offensive against the British.

Ten days later, at the New Jersey Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778, Mary Hays continuously moved around the battlefield bringing water to soldiers and artillerymen, often under heavy fire from British troops. Hours before the battle started, she found a spring to serve as her water supply. Two places on the battlefield are currently marked as the "Molly Pitcher Spring." 

The weather was hot, over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometime during the battle, William Hays collapsed, either wounded or suffering from heat exhaustion. As her husband was carried off the battlefield, Mary Hays took his place at the cannon. For the rest of the day, in the heat of battle, Mary continued to "swab and load" the cannon using her husband's ramrod. At one point, a British musket ball or cannonball flew between her legs and tore off the bottom of her skirt. Mary supposedly said something to the effect of, "Well, that could have been worse," and went back to loading the cannon.

Joseph Plumb Martin recalls this incident in his memoirs, writing that at the Battle of Monmouth, "A woman whose husband belonged to the artillery and who was then attached to a piece in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time. While in the act of reaching a cartridge and having one of her feet as far before the other as she could step, a cannon shot from the enemy passed directly between her legs without doing any other damage than carrying away all the lower part of her petticoat. Looking at it with apparent unconcern, she observed that it was lucky it did not pass a little higher, for, in that case, it might have carried away something else, and continued her occupation."

The battle was seen as a major victory for the Continental Army.

After the battle, General Washington supposedly asked about the woman whom he had seen loading a cannon on the battlefield. In commemoration of her courage, he issued Mary Hays a warrant as a non-commissioned officer. Afterward, she was known as "Sergeant Molly," a nickname that she used for the rest of her life.

At the close of the war, William and Mary Hays returned to Pennsylvania. They settled in Carlisle, where Mary went back to work as a domestic as well as a house cleaner, or "charwoman," in the State House in Carlisle. 

After the death of William, Mary remarried another Revolutionary War veteran by the name of John McCauley. She was awarded a pension in 1822 by the Pennsylvania State Legislature. 

Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, the heroine of the Battle of Monmouth Court House, died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on January 22, 1832, at the age of 78. A marker noting her exemplary service was placed on her grave on the anniversary of the War in 1876.

The story of Margaret Cochran Corbin bears similarities to the story of Mary Ludwig Hays. 

Margaret Cochran was born in western Pennsylvania on November 12, 1751. Her parents were Robert Cochran, a Scots-Irish immigrant, and his wife, Sarah. In 1756, when Margaret was five years old, her parents were attacked by Native Americans. Her father was killed, and her mother was kidnapped, never to be seen again. Because Margaret and her brother, John, were not at home, they escaped the deadly raid. Margaret went to live with her uncle for the rest of her childhood. In 1772, at the age of 21, Margaret married a Virginia farmer named John Corbin.

When the American Revolutionary War began, John enlisted in the First Company of Pennsylvania Artillery loading and firing cannons. As was common at the time for wives of soldiers, Margaret accompanied John during his enlistment. She joined many other women in cooking, washing, and caring for the wounded soldiers and during battles, bringing water to cool the over-heated cannons.

When General Washington moved the bulk of his army north, he left a small garrison of 2,800 American soldiers behind to defend Fort Washington in northern Manhattan Island, New York. John's cannon battery was among them.

On November 12, 1776, nine thousand Hessian troops under British command attacked Fort Washington. John was in charge of firing one of two small cannons sitting at the top of a ridge, today known as Fort Tryon Park. During the assault by the Hessians, John was killed, leaving his cannon unmanned. Margaret had been with her husband on the battlefield the entire time, and, after witnessing his death, she immediately took his place at the cannon, continuing to fire until her arm was almost severed and her breast was lacerated by grapeshot. 

The British ultimately won the Battle of Fort Washington, resulting in the surrender of Margaret and her comrades and the taking of the last American position in New York City. As the equivalent of a wounded soldier, Margaret was released by the British on parole.

After the battle, Margaret went to Philadelphia, completely disabled from her wound, and would never fully heal. The Executive Council of Pennsylvania granted her $30 to cover her present needs and passed her case on to Congress's Board of War. 

On July 6, 1779, the Board, sympathetic to Margaret's injuries and impressed with her service and bravery, granted her half the monthly pay of a soldier in the Continental Army and a new set of clothes or its equivalent in cash. With this act, Congress made Margaret the first woman in the United States to receive a military pension from Congress.

Known throughout her community as a bad-tempered, hard-drinking eccentric by the nickname of "Captain Molly," Margaret died on January 16, 1800, in Westchester County, New York. She was 48 years old.

In 1909, a memorial was dedicated to Margaret Corbin and her compatriots in Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan, New York City, near the location of the Battle of Fort Washington.

In 1926, The New York State Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) verified Margaret's records and recognized her heroism and service to the United States through the papers of General Henry Knox. Margaret's overgrown grave was located, and her body was exhumed. A West Point surgeon confirmed the skeleton was that of Margaret Corbin by comparison with a post-mortem which showed the left side of the face, chest, and upper arm and left shoulder were badly damaged.

On April 14, 1926, her remains were re-interred with full military honors at the cemetery of the United States Military Academy at West Point behind the Old Cadet Chapel in the West Point Cemetery, making her one of only two Revolutionary War soldiers to be buried there. 

The Margaret Corbin Monument was erected by the DAR at the gravesite.

Inseparable

Much is made of the bond among men at arms, but the unity between man and dog in a combat zone is very similar, perhaps stronger. Such was the relationship between Spike, a young, spirited black Labrador retriever, and his young U.S. Marine handler, Lance Cpl. Jared Heine, who trained with Spike from puppyhood and basic training to their deployment to Afghanistan in early 2011. 

The two were inseparable from the moment they met. They slept in the same bunk when they were off-duty. When Heine would Skype with his mother, Mary, back home in Louisiana, he'd tilt the computer tablet so she could say hi to the dog. 

United by an innate understanding of each other, Heine and Spike worked closely together, day after day, sniffing out explosives in the highly deadly environment of Afghanistan. Their objective was finding improvised explosive devices, or IED, the Taliban's most brutally effective weapons against American troops. 

Each time he and Spike went out beyond the wire to clear routes for Marine patrols, they walked point, making themselves the first target as Spike combed the area for any whiff of nitrate that might signal a buried IED. This is what Heine tried not to dwell on: the risk associated with the need to find bombs and with the possibility of missing one.

Three times they were in explosions. Many more times, Spike and Heine sniffed out the danger that saved their lives and those of the Marines in the patrols. But the dangerous work took a toll of Heine, both physically and emotionally. He was sent back to the U.S. with a series of traumatic brain injuries received in the third explosion. He also suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Heine returned home to Louisiana after being discharged from the Marines, not knowing what happened to Spike. He found it hard not to think about his four-legged friend who was with since he was a puppy up until he was injured in the explosion. The only physical memento he had of Spike was a gold-and-purple Louisiana State University collar he had put on Spike when they first became partners. 

Spike also returned to the states where he was reassigned to another dog handler and sent back for a second tour in Afghanistan. When he returned from his second tour, he was taken to a facility in North Carolina that takes care of military animals. It offers the services of trained dogs that do not have homes or further military obligations to police departments for free. Dogs can also be adopted by their handlers, former Marines, and eligible civilians.

Aware that service dogs were adopted by their former partners, Heine filled out the paperwork to adopt Spike, who was in Heine's own words, "Like my brother, my kid. He slept with me every day. We were inseparable." That's when he discovered that his beloved Spike had already been given to a law enforcement agency, but he could not learn its name or where. 

His mother, Mary Heine, was troubled by the son who came back from war so different than before he left. He was upset much of the time and almost never slept. When he did, he was often disturbed by reoccurring nightmares. She knew she was losing him. She believed that if anything could change his life, it would be finding the dog he loved so much.
 
Desperate to help her son, she sought assistance from friends and military working dog groups that might be able to help her locate Spike. A posting on one site resulted in learning Spike had returned to the states and was assigned to work with the Virginia Capitol Police. She immediately emailed Col. Anthony S. "Steve" Pike, Chief of the Capitol Police, and made plans for a reunion between her son and Spike.

Spike's history with the Virginia Capitol Police began in 2013 when K-9 supervisor Officer Sean Chaulklin traveled to North Carolina and picked out Spike for Taylor, a fairly new member of the police force who had just begun training as a K-9 officer. Spike was her first K-9 partner. It was love at first sight.

For about two years, they spent nearly every hour together on duty and at Taylor's home. Spike was always there for Taylor when she struggled on the job and in her personal life. During a difficult breakup with her former partner, Spike was at her side as a friend. He never lets her down, and she depended on him to always be there.

The days before the February 11, 2015 reunion had been exciting for Heine. He was going to see Spike again. He could barely wait, and with that thought, his spirits picked up.

Several days before the reunion, Col. Pike wondered what to do with Spike, who had since been trained and bonded with Taylor. The question was, should Spike stay on as Taylor's partner or be returned to his original partner? That is when he shared with Taylor and told her he thought Spike had one more mission. Taylor knew it meant Spike would be returned to Heine. She also knew it would be hard to say goodbye to someone she loved and who loved her. She never expected not to be with Spike until he was an old, old dog.

On Wednesday morning, February 11, 2015, Heine and his mother Mary, climbed the steps toward the Capitol landing. Awaiting them were the Capitol Police honor guard, a couple hundred state workers, lawmakers, some Marines, and television crews. Standing in the middle of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth were Taylor and Spike. 

Heine moved nervously toward them. At first, he stood and gently petted the dog while speaking with Taylor. He then bent down on his knees to look directly in his old partner's eyes and embraced him calling him by his nickname "Spoik." Spike responded with excitement. For the next 15 minutes, as Taylor and Heine conversed, Spike showed affection to both he and Taylor. At one point, Spike jumped up on hind legs to give his old master a lick on his face. Taylor watched, dabbing the tears from her eye.

Once the public reunion was over, the group walked back to Capitol Police headquarters, where Pike and Taylor told Heine of the plan to retire Spike in the next 30 days so he could again be his dog. Heine's eyes filled with tears as did those of everyone else in the room. Taylor knew it would not be easy, but she knows the power of love is what makes life worth living. 

Taylor tearfully told Heine, "Take care of him. He means everything to me." "I promise I will," he answered.

On the trip back to Louisiana, Mary couldn't help but notice a marked improvement in her son's attitude. He was cheerful, hopeful, and determined to give Spike all the love and care he deserved once they brought him home.

Wednesday evening, March 4, 2015, the night before Spike would be returned to Heine, Taylor scattered all of Spike's favorite toys before him, and when they woke up on Thursday, Spike feasted on chicken nuggets. The two then drove to the Capitol Police headquarters, together for the last time. In her heart, she knew it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't going to be any easier to let Spike go to his forever home.

Minutes before the ceremony, Taylor got down on her knees and hugged Spike, burying her head in his soft black fur, lingering for a moment before standing up to wipe the tears from her eyes. She then directed Spike to sit down in a chair next to Heine while she stood behind him, holding his lease. Inside, her whole body was shaking with emotion. Her thoughts went to the first time she met Spike. It was love at first sight. She was going to miss him terribly. 

Col. Pike stood before those assembled and began by telling of the time Heine and Spike spent in Afghanistan on patrol to located IEDs. He then read a passage Heine had written about his time in the war zone with Spike. It read: "I think about how much responsibility I have and pray. Spike listens and makes me look good. I pray that he finds an IED, and I won't miss it and end up causing the death of someone."

Pike said he understood the love and commitment these two shared and the enormous responsibility they shouldered in such a dangerous environment. He also praised the remarkable bond and friendship Spike and Taylor shared during the past two years with the Capitol Polices.

Midway through Pike's remarks, Spike spontaneously stood up in his chair, turned to his old partner, and began licking him on the face. A few minutes later, he did it again.

Finished with his talk, Pike moved to Spike, removed his badge while Taylor unfastened his police dog vest. Pike then produced the LSU collar Heine had brought home with him and put it on Spike. Beaming from ear to ear, Heine then clamped a colorful leash on HIS dog. 

After the ceremony, Heine, with a broad smile, said, "I couldn't be happier. It just hasn't sunk in yet that it is real." He planned on keeping Spike active. Mary Heine had other plans. "He saved my son's life, and I'm going to spoil him."

Taylor knows she will never forget Spike, her first partner. "I feel this is Spike's journey. There will be other dogs, but there will never be another Spike." 

In April, Taylor went to Alabama to pick out a newly trained dog with no previous owner. She now has her forever dog.

View videos of the first reunion and the ceremony when Spike is returned to Jared Heine:
http://www.wdbj7.com/video/marine-reunited-with-service-dog-in-richmond/31219848
http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/spikeandjared/