Reuniting Brothers in Arms SGT. FIELDY COMES HOME
several more tours without him. While Fieldy continued to protect soldiers and civilians by tracking down IEDs, Caceres worked tirelessly to make sure he could bring Fieldy home when his service was over. Military working dogs can be adopted by former handlers, law enforcement or qualified civilians when they retire. After three years apart and a total of four tours served, Sgt. Fieldy was reunited with Caceres. In 2016, Fieldy received the K9 Medal of Courage Award and in 2018, he won the American Humane Hero Dog Award for his service. “These dogs are out there with us,” said Caceres when he and Fieldy accepted the Hero Dog Award. “The dangers we face, they face them too. They deserve to be recognized. We ask so much of them and all they want is to get petted or play with a toy. They’re amazing animals and Fieldy is just an amazing dog. I can’t begin to express the gratitude I have for him.” If you are interested in supporting our nation’s working dogs or would like to adopt a retired working dog yourself, you can learn more at MissionK9rescue.org.
There are around 2,500 military working dogs currently in service and their
efforts help save the lives of countless soldiers and civilians every
Last October, Lisa Nagengast spent time with her brother Greg Holeman in Nebraska. Greg, a 48-year-old Army veteran, had recently undergone a risky spinal-fusion surgery and Lisa looked after him. Greg was doing well when Lisa boarded the plane to return home, but when Lisa landed in Tampa, Florida, she discovered an alarming voicemail. Greg had called her during the flight. He was in terrible pain but couldn’t afford a cab ride to the hospital and wasn’t sure if his insurance covered an ambulance. Panicked, Lisa called her brother’s social worker and quickly explained the situation. She was passed to a manager who said he would see if one of their drivers could help. Fifteen minutes later, Lisa got a call from a young man named Zach Hillmer. Zach said he could give Greg a ride to the hospital, but he needed Greg’s address and phone number. Frustrated and worried about her brother, Lisa demanded to know why a social worker didn’t already have this information on file. Zach responded by saying, “Ma’am, you called Jimmy John’s.” day. One of these brave military dogs is Sgt. Fieldy, an 11-year-old black lab who was trained to locate the No. 1 threat in Afghanistan: IEDs. Sgt. Fieldy was deployed to Afghanistan with his handler, Cpl. Nicolas Caceres, in 2011. Early in their deployment, their vehicle struck a pressure plate while they were on patrol. Fieldy and Caceres were all right but one of the other Marines in their company was badly injured in the explosion. The injured Marine could not be evacuated by helicopter until the landing zone was secured. Fieldy found another IED in the area and alerted Caceres. The bomb was quickly disarmed and the injured soldier was taken to safety. This wasn’t the only IED Fieldy found. His sharp nose and dedication helped save thousands of lives. After his deployment, Caceres returned home but Sgt. Fieldy served
How a Wrong Number Led to a Selfless Rescue SPECIAL DELIVERY
In her panic, instead of calling Greg’s social
worker, Lisa had phoned the local branch of the chain sandwich restaurant. Lisa apologized for her mistake, but Zach, who was also a veteran, insisted she give
him Greg’s address so he could help. Zach got Greg to the hospital where he was treated for his back and later got a free cab ride home. This heartwarming story reached the founder and CEO of the restaurant chain, Jimmy John Liautaud. He flew from Chicago to Nebraska so he could thank Zach in person and give him a brand-new Ford Escape as a reward for making such a special delivery. Today, Greg is doing well and Lisa says she’s enormously grateful to the Jimmy John’s employees who went out of their way to help a stranger on the end of a very wrong number.
2 www.OctoberKitchen.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker