HONOLULU (KHON2) -- A new book sheds light on an unsung World War Two hero and she has four paws and a wagging tail. Get Hawaii's latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The book, "Lucy: Mascot of the 442 Medics" tells the true story of Lucy, a stray dog who became the beloved mascot of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team's Third Battalion medics. Lucy's journey with the 442nd begins in the small, war-torn Italian town of Luciana in 1944. It's a true story of the scrappy dog who won the hearts of Hawaii's Nisei soldiers during the toughest time of the war. 15 Halawa Correctional Facility inmates celebrate newest achievement "So she was a little puppy, and the medics, they bartered with some kids, they traded some candy for her, they fed her with an eyedropper, they even got her her own dog tags," explained Stacey Hayashi, the book's author. Hayashi, who made a film on the 100th Infantry, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, has been wanting to tell the story of Lucy for 11 years now, after stumbling upon pictures of her in a photo album of 442nd veteran Eddie Yamasaki. "And then there's a charming picture of like the group photo of all the medics, and she's in the middle, you know, and so they've totally loved her. And I'm like, 'Why didn't anybody tell me about the dog?'" said Hayashi. As the story goes, while bullets flew and bombs fell, Lucy was a loving and loyal friend as the unit fought through Europe. "They really needed some happiness and joy and luckily, there was Lucy," said Hayashi. Lucy's story is brought to life through animation legend, Willie Ito, who has worked with Disney, Hanna Barbera, and Warner Brothers, over his 50-year career. "I finally made it to Walt Disney and my very first assignment was on the film, Lady and the Tramp. I was fortunate enough to work on the iconic spaghetti kissing scene from Lady and the Tramp and so ever since I was like working in the industry from Disney and Warner Brothers to Hanna-Barbera, I was always working on some kind of a dog character, Huckleberry Hound, Scooby Doo, you name it," said Ito. How the SPCA is helping Oahu’s houseless, their pets Ito said being historically accurate was the hardest part of the project. "Not having been, you know, in person in those experiences, there's a certain amount of research, like the uniforms they wore during that period. And try to keep it, you know, as authentic as I can and yet focus on Lucy as the cute character," said Ito. "There was this one scene where, you know, there's not too much written about the Battle of Luciano. In fact, you don't even know that it's a battle," said Hayashi. "I sent it to my historian friend in Italy and I was like, what did it look like? Was there anything written that you've come across? And he actually sent me memoirs, like unpublished memoirs of a K-Company veteran."  In telling Lucy's story, the book shines a new light on the bravery and camaraderie of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most highly decorated unit in US military history for its size and time in combat. "I pack in all the information because this might be the only thing that people see. Like a person living on the mainland, who's not Japanese-American, they might grab it because they think 'Oh what a cute dog!' you know? So it's a way of telling history, an important part of history through the eyes of a dog, but maybe appealing to a certain part of the population," Hayashi explained. After the war, Lucy was brought to Hawaii by one of her soldier friends, where she spent her final years surrounded by love and gratitude. More than a mascot, Lucy embodies the resilience and loyalty of the 442nd. Lucy's story is also keeping Willie from retiring. "Old cartoonists never die. They just keep working and working and working," said Ito. Check out what's going on around the nation on our National News page "We're not going to let him retire. He doesn't want to anyway," laughed Hayashi. The book is going to print this week with hopes of launching the book in December. You can pre-order the book HERE.