Chances are good you never heard of Quitman, Miss., and if I told you it was close to Enterprise, Pachuta and Stonewall that probably wouldn't help at all.

What matters is that Santa Claus knows where it is. So does the United States Marine Corps. The "jolly one" just got together with the Corps, you see, because the rural little town of 2,500 will be minus one hero but plus another on this Christmas morning.

Dustin Lee, the 20-year-old son of a Mississippi state trooper, was killed in March when his Marine platoon fell under a mortar attack in Falluja, Iraq. With him at the time was his "war dog," a big German Shepherd named Lex, and the dog was also hit by shrapnel but lived through the ordeal.

As a matter of fact, some of the other Marines had to literally pull the injured but ever-faithful dog away from Dustin so the medics could try to save the young corporal's life, but the soldier's injuries were too severe.

So instead Lex, sore and limping, accompanied the body of his master to sleepy little Quitman, which is located about two-thirds down the state near the Alabama border. That's where the young hero was buried and Lex played tug-of-war with Dustin's little brother afterward.

That game of tug-of-war turned out to be real important because after the funeral Lex was taken to the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga., to continue his recovery. The dog, now eight years old, had already done a couple of tours with the Marines and the officers at the funeral hinted that searching through Iraq's slums in the dark of night was a mission for a younger dog.

So the Lee family began to write letters to try to adopt the dog, but the Marine Corps has a time-tested rule that usually the "war dogs" are too aggressive for adoption and heretofore had spent the remainder of their lives in a kennel.

The Marines have never allowed a "war dog" to be adopted. But this was more than a dog, the Lee family pointed out. This dog went through the thick-and-thin with Dustin – they shared a fox hole together, for Pete's sake - and, this Christmas, Dustin's chair at the front table will be empty.

Think what you may and say what you will, but right about then is when ole St. Nick stepped in. From up in the North Pole, or maybe it was a little closer to heaven, hearts began to soften. Some of the Marine Corps officers even remembered seeing Lex playing tug-of-war with Dustin's little brother at the funeral.

So about a week ago the "brass" at the Marine Corps Logistic Center cut a new set of orders for Lex to go with his latest Purple Heart. The orders were to pack up his gear and prepare to report to a new assignment far from Falluja. He was shipping out to Quitman, Miss.

Some Marines may have groused at such a posting, but not Lex. He and Dustin had been there before and he'd seen how much fun it would be to swim in the Chickasawhay River and knew the people of Clarke County were special. The dog remembered them lining the streets by the hundreds at Dustin's funeral.

It was at the funeral some remembered that when Dustin was growing up he always had a special way with dogs. He'd rub his clothes on a dog's face and then go hide in the woods, waiting for the dog to find him.

Late yesterday afternoon, after a special ceremony where the Marine Corps honored Lex on behalf of a grateful nation, Jerome Lee and his family took the dog home to their place out near Stonewall, but not before stopping out at the cemetary where Dustin is buried. There, Lex found his buddy again.

That's the way it is with these Marines, particularly those who have been in battle together. Look sharp, stand tall, but, above all, Semper Fidelis – Always Faithful.

royexum@aol.com