Meridian Star -- Jerome Lee of Stonewall has been a trooper for Troop H of the Mississippi Highway Patrol since 1982. He can still vividly remember his six-year old son, Dustin, playing in his patrol car.

“He always wanted to call the dispatcher on the radio to tell them I was in service,” said Jerome Lee Thursday afternoon. “I let him play with the siren and lights some. He wanted to become a state trooper.”

But Dustin Jerome Lee won’t be able to fulfill his dream of being a trooper and following in his father’s footsteps. Dustin Lee, 20, died earlier this week serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq — six weeks before he was expected to return home.

The Lee family was notified Tuesday of their sacrifice by Marine Corps officials.

“He was a very focused, intense individual,” said the elder Lee by phone. “He always excelled in everything he set out to do. He had his whole life mapped out.”

 Dustin Lee was serving in the 3/14 G Battery, 3rd platoon in Falluja when he was killed. Jerome Lee said his son died of injuries suffered in a mortar attack.

“He was hit in the chest with shrapnel from the blast and was medi-vaced out of the area to a hospital,” said Jerome Lee. “He died a little while later.”

The two men talked the day before Dustin Lee was killed. Jerome Lee said his son was sounding upbeat and in high spirits.

“Maybe it was the knowledge he was coming home in about six weeks. I don’t know. But he left me a voice message on my answering machine before he went out on his last mission,” Jerome Lee said.

Jerome Lee played back the message left by his son. In the message, Dustin Lee said he just wanted to call before he headed out and to tell everyone he loved them.

“He said he’d talk to us later,” Jerome Lee said.

Dustin Lee, according to his father, loved to ride dirt bikes, a sport Dustin Lee picked up from his younger brother, Camryn Lee. Jerome Lee said Camryn and Dustin’s sister Madyson, were doing as well as could be expected with the news of the death.

Jerome Lee is trying to grapple with the loss of his eldest son. Nonetheless, he is still proud of the boy who once sat in his patrol car and wanted to follow his daddy into serving others.

“He always wanted to help other people,” said Jerome Lee. “He loved his country and was proud to be a Marine.”

Asked, despite the devastating loss, if he was proud of his son’s service to his country and his sacrifice Jerome Lee replied quietly, “Most definitely. I’m very proud of him.”

Marine Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee and his German shepherd, Lex, scoured Iraq for roadside bombs together, slept next to each other and even posed in Santa hats for a holiday photo.

When a mortar attack killed the 20-year-old Marine in Fallujah a few months later, Lex, whimpering from his own injuries, had to be pulled away, Lee's father was told.

That strong bond compelled the slain Marine's family to adopt 8-year-old Lex even though the military said he still had two years of service.

The family lobbied the military for months, launched an Internet petition and enlisted the aid of a North Carolina congressman who took their case straight to the Marine Corps' top general.

On Wednesday, the Marine Corps finally announced Lex could go home to Lee's family. It is the first time the military has granted a dog early retirement to be adopted by someone other than a former handler.

"We knew that's what Dustin would have wanted out of this," said Jerome Lee, the slain Marine's father. "He knew that we would take care of Lex and love him, just like our own."

Lee's family from Quitman, Miss., picked up Lex from the Albany base Friday, exactly nine months after the fatal attack.

Though some shrapnel remains lodged in his back, Lex has otherwise recovered from his wounds and has been serving alongside military policemen at the Albany base since July.

"It is extraordinary," said Col. Christian Haliday, commander of the Marine Logistics Base in Albany, Ga., where the dog is based. "As far as we know, it's the first time that a waiver of policy of this nature has been granted."

Officials at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, which trains dogs for all service branches, confirmed it is the first case of its kind.

Lee joined the Marines after graduating from high school in 2004. His father said his drive to become a dog handler came from Lee's mother, who worked with search-and-rescue dogs for their local emergency management agency when Lee was a boy.

After finishing his military police and dog handler training, the young Marine headed to Albany. Lee adopted his first canine partner, Doenja, from the military and sent him home to Mississippi last year when the 11-year-old dog began losing his sight and had to retire.

Lee formed an equally strong bond with his new partner, Lex.

The military has more than 1,700 dogs that work alongside American troops, including about 260 in the Marines. Their bomb-sniffing skills have been in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., said he discussed the Lees' case with Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine Corps commandant.

"The way I look at this, dogs are being trained every day to be a part of the armed forces," Jones said. "This family gave their son for their country. This is a small gift back to them."