Fallen Soldier’s Puppy Gives Hope to Grieving Family

This is simply amazing! The parents of a fallen soldier adopted the dog that spent his final days with him in Iraq. While they were being interviewed about it, something unexpected happened while the cameras were rolling. A beam of light shone down from above on his devoted dog. The image, which in no way was photoshopped or manipulated, went viral. It was as if their son was sending them a special message.

The photo, as reported by ABC News’ Kimberly Launier, was taken during a television shoot for a 20/20 episode:

“I was filming soldier Justin Rollin’s parents Skip and Rhonda playing with their dog Hero, whose rescue from the Iraq War zone where Justin died was nothing short of a miracle,” said Launier.


“Sometimes when Rhonda hugged Hero she would softly pet her face and coo, ‘Justin, are you in there?’ It was Rhonda’s gentle way of remembering their son and his last living connection to Hero. At one point, Hero wandered off and took a stroll in the backyard. All of a sudden, the clouds broke and a light began to solidify in a beam directly down on Hero — a kind of vertical halo.”

Below is a video of the amazing story of how people came together to bring Hero back from Iraq to the United States.

Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links.