08/12/2026
I wanted to share with those of you who couldn't be at the unveiling of the Always Faithful Monument the speech, in it's entirety that SGM LaValle gave that day. Originally I just wanted to pull a few lines from it, but as I read it through over and over I could not find one part to leave out. I hope you will take the time to read it through.
"ALWAYS FAITHFUL"
THANK YOU, MR. SYMONS, THE ENTIRE MICHIGAN WAR DOG MEMORIAL TEAM, AND EVERY VOLUNTEER, CONTRIBUTOR, AND DONOR WHO SUPPORTED THIS PROJECT. YOU DID NOT JUST BUILD A MONUMENT; YOU BUILT A SANCTUARY. BECAUSE OF YOUR YEARS OF TIRELESS DEDICATION, THESE HEROES HAVE A HOME.
TO OUR CHERISHED GOLD STAR FAMILIES, OUR DISTINGUISHED VETERANS, FELLOW HANDLERS, AND HONORED GUESTS JOINING US TODAY:
GOOD AFTERNOON. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. IT IS AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY.
I AM SERGEANT MAJOR VIRIDIANA LAVALLE, THE ARMY MILITARY WORKING DOG PROGRAM MANAGER BUT BEFORE THE TITLES AND THE RANK, I AM A SOLDIER. MORE IMPORTANTLY, I AM A HANDLER WHO KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANS TO HOLD THAT LEASH. THAT LEASH REPRESENTS AN UNSPOKEN COVENANT OF ABSOLUTE UNWAVERING LOYALTY.
IT IS A BOND FORGED IN SHARED SILENCE, VIGILANCE, AND UNCONDITIONAL DEVOTION. IT IS A SACRED SPACE WHERE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SPECIES ARE TRANSFORMED INTO ONE HEART AND ONE FAMILY, SENT OUT TO ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION.
YOU TRUST YOUR LIFE TO YOUR FOUR-LEGGED PARTNER, AND THEY ENTRUST THEIRS TO YOU, WITHOUT HESITATION AND WITHOUT CONDITION. WHEN YOU STAND AT THE END OF THAT LEASH, YOU DO NOT JUST HAVE A TACTICAL ASSET OR A FORCE MULTIPLIER, YOU HAVE A PARTNER, A PROTECTOR, AND A BEST FRIEND DEVOTED TO KEEPING YOU SAFE. THEY ARE OUR GUADIANS OF THE NIGHT.
TODAY, WE ARE GATHERED TO UNVEIL THE “ALWAYS FAITHFUL” MONUMENT, AN INCREDIBLY FITTING TRIBUTE TO THE 113 FALLEN K9 WARRIORS WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE.
THESE FOUR-LEGGED HEROES ARE THE REASON SO MANY OF US MADE IT HOME. WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS WALL, WE DO NOT JUST SEE COLD STONES AND ENGRAVED LETTERS. WE SEE LIVES. WE SEE LIVING STORIES OF UNIMAGINABLE COURAGE.
AS HANDLERS, WE ARE DEEPLY FAMILIAR WITH THE ULTIMATE MEASURE OF DEVOTION. TODAY, WE HONOR THE EXTRAORDINARY K9S WHO STOOD AS PHYSICAL SHIELDS—DELIBERATELY LAYING DOWN THEIR OWN LIVES AND ABSORBING THE BRUNT OF THE DANGER SO THAT THEIR HANDLERS, THEIR TEAMMATES, AND THEIR SQUADS COULD LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER SUNRISE.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE 113 NAMES ETCHED ONTO THIS MONUMENT CARRIES A LEGACY OF BRAVERY THAT DESERVES TO BE TOLD. WHILE TIME DOES NOT PERMIT US TO SHARE ALL OF THEM TODAY, WE LOOK TO FIVE EXTRAORDINARY PARTNERS WHO REPRESENT THE SPIRIT, THE COURAGE, AND THE SACRIFICE OF EVERY WARRIOR ON THIS WALL.
FIRST, REPRESENTING THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE IN IRAQ, WE REMEMBER MWD AKKI B363. IN OCTOBER 2005, WHILE ATTACHED TO A MARINE INFANTRY BATTALION, AKKI DETECTED COUNTLESS IEDS AND WEAPONS CACHES, KEEPING THE ROUTES SAFE FOR HIS TEAM BEFORE HE TRAGICALLY MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. HIS LEGACY STANDS FOR EVERY QUIET, HAZARDOUS ROUTE GUARDED BY AIR FORCE TEAMS WORLDWIDE.
NEXT, REPRESENTING THE UNITED STATES NAVY IN AFGHANISTAN, WE REMEMBER COMBAT ASSAULT DOG REMCO. IN JULY 2009, REMCO LED A NAVY SEAL TEAM INTO A PITCH-BLACK FIELD. SENSING AN AMBUSH, REMCO CHARGED STRAIGHT TOWARD THE HIDDEN ENEMY, DRAWING THEIR FIRE. THOUGH FATALLY STRUCK, HIS FINAL ACT GAVE HIS TEAM THE SPLIT-SECOND WARNING THEY NEEDED TO SURVIVE. REMCO DIED SO THAT HIS BROTHERS-IN-ARMS COULD LIVE.
REPRESENTING THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS, WE REMEMBER MWD TORRY L404. IN JUNE 2011, TORRY AND HIS HANDLER, CORPORAL RICK COLTS, WERE CONDUCTING THEIR FINAL PATROL IN HELMAND PROVINCE. TORRY SUDDENLY BROKE HIS SEARCH PATTERN, RAN BACK TO CPL COLTS, AND SAT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIM—ALERTING AT THE ROADSIDE. BEFORE THE TEAM COULD REACT, A HIDDEN IED DETONATED. TORRY ABSORBED THE DEVASTATING FORCE TO SAVE HIS HANDLER’S LIFE.
FINALLY, REPRESENTING THE UNITED STATES ARMY. WE REMEMBER MWD BAK, WHO HAD ALREADY SURVIVED A PRIOR IED BLAST EARNING THE PURPLE PAW AWARD. DURING A SUDDEN INSIDER ATTACK, BAK THREW HIMSELF INTO THE LINE OF FIRE, TAKING THE BRUNT OF THE INCOMING ROUNDS TO GUARD HIS WOUNDED HANDLER. BAK PASSED AWAY FROM HIS WOUNDS, BUT SGT. MOLINA SURVIVED BECAUSE OF HIS PARTNER'S SHIELD.
THESE 113 K9S WE HONOR TODAY GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE SO THAT OTHERS COULD LIVE.
AS WE UNVEIL THIS MONUMENT TO ENSURE THEIR SACRIFICES ARE REMEMBERED FOR GENERATIONS, I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT THEIR LEGACY IS ACTIVELY SHAPING THE FUTURE OF OUR ARMED FORCES. THE GREATEST WAY WE CAN HONOR THESE HEROES WHOSE NAMES ARE ETCHED INTO THIS STONE IS BY PROVIDING THE ABSOLUTE HIGHEST STANDARD OF CARE, EQUIPMENT, AND TRAINING THE K9S SERVING TODAY.
ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR, WE ARE EXECUTING A MASSIVE MODERNIZATION EFFORT, DRIVEN BY THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE VERY CONFLICTS THIS MONUMENT MEMORIALIZES. WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY EXPANDING OUR OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES AND ENSURING THAT OUR TEAMS ARE EQUIPPED WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART PROTECTIVE GEAR AND CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
BUT OUR MODERNIZATION GOES FAR BEYOND TACTICAL EQUIPMENT; IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT HOW WE TREAT THESE LIVING, BREATHING HEROES.
I AM INCREDIBLY PROUD OF THE ARMY’S NEW CANINE HOLISTIC HEALTH AND FITNESS PROGRAM. THIS INITIATIVE IS A COMPLETE PARADIGM SHIFT, PROVIDING THEM WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND CARE THEY DESERVE AS MILITARY ATHLETES AND PARTNERS.
AS A CORNERSTONE OF THIS COMMITMENT, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A MWD COHABITATION INITIATIVE, RECOGNIZING THAT A HANDLER AND THEIR DOG ARE NOT JUST A TEAM DURING WORKING HOURS. BY ALLOWING THEM TO LIVE TOGETHER, WE REINFORCE THAT PROFOUND, UNBREAKABLE BOND THAT DICTATES THEIR SUCCESS ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
AND, NESTED WITHIN THIS INITIATIVE IS THE ARMY’S PARTNER AND WELLNESS PROGRAM. FOR DECADES, CHANGING DUTY STATIONS MEANT LEAVING A PARTNER BEHIND. THE PAW PROGRAM ENDS THAT HEARTBREAK, ALLOWING HANDLERS AND THEIR MWDS TO PCS TOGETHER, PRESERVING THAT SACRED BOND.
THIS LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE DOESN'T JUST LIVE IN OUR MEMORY; IT THRIVES IN OUR ACTIVE FORMATIONS. JUST AS WE CARVED THE NAMES OF OUR FALLEN HEROES IN STONE TODAY, WE HONOR THE EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE OF THOSE STILL ON PATROL THROUGH THE ANNUAL K9 YORK AWARD. NAMED AFTER THE LEGENDARY KOREAN WAR, SCOUT DOG YORK WHO LED 148 COMBAT PATROLS WITHOUT LOSING A SINGLE SOLDIER, THIS AWARD HIGHLIGHTS THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE AND THE CRITICAL, LIFE-SAVING CAPABILITIES OUR MWDS CONTINUE TO BRING WORLDWIDE.
TO THE MICHIGAN WAR DOG MEMORIAL: THANK YOU FOR ENSURING THAT OUR FALLEN K9 HEROES HAVE A PLACE OF HONOR. THIS MONUMENT IS A STAGGERING ACHIEVEMENT, AND IT GUARANTEES THAT THE BRAVERY OF THESE MILITARY WORKING DOGS WILL NEVER FADE FROM OUR NATION'S MEMORY.
TO THE HANDLERS HERE TODAY: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. TO OUR VIETNAM HANDLERS TODAY. THANK YOU FOR PAVING THE WAY. TO EVERYONE HERE, THANK YOU FOR LOVING THESE HEROES.
THE MATH OF THEIR SACRIFICE IS AS SIMPLE AS IT IS PROFOUND. WHILE WE HOLD IN OUR HEARTS THE BRAVE HANDLERS WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE AND CROSSED THAT FINAL HORIZON HAND-IN-PAW WITH THEIR PARTNERS, WE ALSO KNOW THIS TRUTH: BECAUSE THESE 113 K9 NAMES ARE ETCHED IN STONE TODAY, THERE ARE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF SONS, DAUGHTERS, FATHERS, AND MOTHERS WHO RETURNED HOME SAFELY. WE OWE THEM AN ETERNAL DEBT—AND A SACRED PROMISE TO NEVER FORGET THAT THEY DID NOT JUST GUARD OUR RANKS; THEY SAVED OUR FAMILIES.
MAY GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES, MAY GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES OF THE FALLEN, AND MAY GOD BLESS THE FEARLESS MILITARY WORKING DOGS WHO REMAIN, ALWAYS AND FOREVER, FAITHFUL. THANK YOU.
