Reading Response: From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, The War, and a Dog Named Lava

  This book is about how a marine named Jay Kopelman in Iraq, and how he tried to get a stray puppy named Lava back to the United States during a war in 2004. In the book, him and other fellow Marines learn the lessons about life and war while trying to get Lava to the United States. The book is written in many different perspectives like Jay Kopelman. In the book, many other people such as journalist Anne and several soldiers in the base at Iraq. Throughout the book, the author Jay talks about his feelings about war, life, and death, as well as his time of taking care of Lava and his time during the war. He also writes the difficult process of getting Lava to a safe place, and to avoid letting him roam the streets, where dogs eating corpses is typical. Some of them include getting Lava a passport, vaccinations, and to sneak him onto a plane to America.
   This book also includes the soldier's doubts about taking care of Lava when military laws forbid soldiers taking care of stray animals other than their dags that are trained to sniff out bombs and such. In the book, it also says that death in the war wasn't very rewarding, and that they don't get respect. Instead, they are taken and examined for any strapped bombs, and then sent to a camouflage refrigerator. He also says that either if you are an enemy to them or not, once you're dead, you're no longer dangerous to those people.
   I like how in the book, he talks about his theories of war and the rescuing of Lava, as well as his affection for the dog throughout the book. It shows that no matter how rough the war is, the caring for Lava can keep you sane and happy, sometimes.