Rebecca’s War Dog of the Week: A soldier’s last words are a plea for Cane

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Friday, April 1, 2011 - 7:32 AM Share

By Rebecca Frankel
Best Defense chief canine correspondent

For the 22-year-old Lance Cpl. William "Billy" H. Crouse IV, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, was the site of first tour of duty -- for his bomb-sniffing dog Cane, it was the third. Only a few weeks had passed when, on Dec. 21, 2010 during a routine patrol with their Marine team, the pair encountered a roadside bomb -- both dog and handler were hit.

I couldn't find a lot of detail about that day, the IED blast, or about Cane and Cpl. Crouse's relationship. But after scouring a number of articles and Facebook accounts, in the end the big picture of that day fades into the shadow of one detail. During what must of been a chaotic scene charged with great urgency, while being lifted into the medevac the wounded handler had the emotional wherewithal to insist the soldiers around him to save his dog.

"'Get Cane in the Blackhawk!' Crouse cried out before losing consciousness."

Apparently, those were his last words. Neither Crouse nor Cane survived.

Crouse's body was brought home to Texas that following week, and the funeral was held on Dec. 29. The Facebook page established in Crouse's memorandum has some lovely stories, especially touching are those comments made by Crouse's sister, Jennifer. 

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EXPLORE:REBECCA'S WAR DOG OF THE WEEK
 

WALKING WOUNDED

2:15 PM ET

April 1, 2011

War dog repatriation, passing the baton to locals

There are two take-home take-home lessons from Rebecca's war dog stories, as I see it.

1. We need to make the stand-up of local canine anti-terror capability and capacity a priority, as local forces take over the security mission. Iraq and Afghanistan dogs should be creating their own heroic stories, their trainers become assets for other countries, as they survive the trying decade ahead.

2. Future deployment of US war dogs needs to include funding and planning for repatriation and retirement. For the mental health and morale of the handlers, and for the soul of this morally challenged nation.

Our canine teams have earned and deserve honorable treatment, and they're not getting it now.

 

PAUL GRIFFIN

3:10 PM ET

April 1, 2011

Thank you.

Rebecca,

Thank you for posting this moving story. I went to the Facebook page and found it as touching as you said. My thoughts and prayers go out to L/Cpl Crouse's family and friends.

Semper fi,
Paul Griffin

 

JENNIFER CHAFFEE

11:30 AM ET

April 3, 2011

LCPL Crouse and Cane

Billy is my brother. He was not brought home to Texas, he was brought home to Indiana. Thank you for the story, but I need to make that correction.

 

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military for the Washington Post from 2000 through 2008.

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