Killed in Iraq, dog team buried together

The first military working dog team killed in action together since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were laid to rest together July 18. Cpl. Kory D. Wiens, 20, of the 94th Mine Dog Detachment, 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and his partner, Cooper, were killed July 6 by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Muhammad Sath, Iraq. They had been in Iraq since January. The cremated remains of Wiens and Cooper, a Labrador retriever, were buried together at Salt Creek Cemetery in Wiens’ hometown of Dallas, Ore., at the request of his family. The Army has 578 dog teams, and they have served several hundred rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Research indicates that the last military canine team to be killed together was during the Vietnam War.