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Memorial Day is coming up on Monday.

It's a day to remember those who performed the most selfless act of all.

But we can't forget our four-legged friends who were bred for it and born into it.

So here are 5 K9s worth knowing before Monday. 🎖️ 

Weekly Bite

🎖️ K-9 Nemo (German Shepherd)

On December 3rd 1966, 60 Viet Cong infiltrated Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut Air Base and many remained hidden.

The next night, a hidden Viet Cong fired several shots from an AK-47 at Rob and Nemo while they were on patrol duty.

Throneburg took a hit in his left shoulder and Nemo took one on his nose and lost his right eye.

Nemo kept fighting which gave Rob enough time to call for backup.

As Rob was fading away from blood loss, Nemo crawled on top of him.

They both underwent multiple surgeries before they recovered from their injuries.

On November 11th, 2017 Nemo was celebrated as one of the most heroic of the U.S. K9 Corps on Veterans Day.

🎖️ K-9 Layka (Belgian Malinois)

In May 2012, her team was pinned down outside an enemy compound in Afghanistan.

After Apache helicopters made their gun run, Layka was sent in ahead of the team to clear what was left.

A combatant inside fired on her at point-blank range with an AK-47.

Four rounds tore into her right shoulder.

Layka kept attacking until the gunman was down.

Her handler, Staff Sgt. Julian McDonald, had been trained as a physician's assistant before the Army.

He rendered first aid on the spot which saved her life.

Layka was flown to Germany for multiple surgeries and her front leg was amputated.

Two years later, her portrait was on the cover of National Geographic.

🎖️ K-9 Lucca (Belgian Malinois x GSD)

On March 23, 2012, on patrol in Afghanistan, she found a 30-pound IED hidden in a roadway.

As she searched the area for a second device, it detonated underneath her.

She lost her front left leg and suffered severe burns to her chest.

Her handler, Cpl. Juan Rodriguez, dragged her clear and rendered first aid.

Ten days later in Germany, Lucca was walking again.

It was her last mission of a six-year career.

Across 400+ patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan, no Marine had been killed on her watch.

In April 2016 she became the first US Marine Corps dog to receive the Dickin Medal, Britain's "Victoria Cross for Animals."

🎖️ K-9 Rocky (Dutch Shepherd)

Rocky walked point.

That meant finding IEDs and ambushes before the team behind him did.

In Iraq, he led a 45-man element safely through heavily mined enemy territory, mission after mission.

On February 23, 2005, Rocky didn't come back.

He died protecting the men he served with.

His name is laid in stone at the SOF K9 memorial outside the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Alongside the other Combat Assault Dogs killed in action.

🎖️ K-9 Cairo (Belgian Malinois)

On May 2, 2011, he was the only dog on the compound during Operation Neptune Spear, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

He flew into Abbottabad wearing a Kevlar vest and night-vision goggles, seated between his handler Will Chesney's legs in the Black Hawk.

His job that night was to sniff for explosives and guard the perimeter while the team gathered intelligence.

Every SEAL on the mission was awarded the Silver Star.

Cairo wasn't eligible. Military service animals couldn't receive decorations at the time.

When President Obama visited the team afterward, he learned about Cairo and said, "I want to meet this dog."

Tail End

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Until next Thursday, ✌️

Sam