http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660223617,00.htmlSome 4,000 dogs served in the Vietnam War. Their work was directly responsible for saving an estimated 10,000 American lives. Yet their story is a largely forgotten part of the war.
Veterinarian Alan Cunningham sits beside the memorial to war dogs at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park. (Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning News)
Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning News
American Fork veterinarian Alan Cunningham is one of those who is hoping to change all that. Cunningham recently erected a memorial to war dogs and their handlers at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park near Camp Williams.
"A few years ago, I read about the war dogs and was both impressed and saddened by their story," he says. "Fewer than 200 of them ever returned home. Some 325 died in the line of duty, while another approximately 600 succumbed to tropical disease. But at the end of the war, the rest were considered military equipment and were either euthanized or left behind. They deserve to be remembered."
The memorial is one of only a handful of such monuments around the country, most of which are on military bases. "This is the first one to be placed at a veterans cemetery, but I think it is a fitting place for it," says Cunningham.
It is a simple monument, with a bronze dog sitting on a sandstone slab. Cunningham purposely did not want to show the dog in halter. "I wanted it to be a dog, not to be working." Because, he says, as important as the work was that the dogs did, when they were not working, they offered companionship and love that were also important to the soldiers.
The monument was installed in April, without ceremony or dedication. "I just wanted it to be a quiet, humble thing," says Cunningham, "but I hope, with Memorial Day coming up, some people will want to come visit it."
He pretty much footed the cost of the memorial himself. "I tried to get donations, but not many people were interested. I did get some from the Bank of American Fork. But I decided I could just work more and get the money myself."
That speaks to why the memorial is important and needed, he says: Too many people don't realize what war dogs have done. "When I tell people about the war dogs, some are amazed, but some say, 'So what?' But you think that if those other 10,000 soldiers had died in Vietnam, maybe one of them would have been a person that has had an impact on your life, or my life, directly or indirectly."
A soldier in Vietnam relaxes in the demilitarized zone with his tracker dog. (Deseret Morning News archives)
There is now a push to have a national memorial to war dogs placed in Washington, D.C. Increased interest in the story of the war dogs has grown out of a 1999 documentary, which first aired on the Discovery Channel but has aired worldwide since, says Mo Johnson, who works with the War Dog Memorial Fund, which is raising money for the effort. The film tells "the heart-wrenching story of the bond between the dogs and their handlers and the great lengths they look to save one another from the tragedies of war," she says. (The documentary is free with a donation of $10 or more to the fund. For more information, visit
www.war-dogs.com.)
"I believe the dogs should be recognized. Their stories are stories of love. I've met many of the handlers, and they all say that if it wasn't for their dogs, they wouldn't be here today," she said, in a telephone interview from their California headquarters.
There is also a push to have the dogs honored on a commemorative postage stamp. Two requests have been denied, but a third one is going on now. "It's pretty sad that cartoon dogs can have a stamp, but we can't get one for real-life service dogs," said Johnson.
Decades later, handlers who served in Vietnam still break down and cry as they tell of their dogs' heroics, says Cunningham. "The courageous canine soldiers worked for food, water and the love and companionship of their handlers. They never gave up on the battlefield."
Dogs were used extensively in Vietnam, but that is not the only time they have been called into action. They've been used for centuries, says Cunningham, and certainly in every modern war, including the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military Working Dogs, as they were called then, were used in World War I but became increasingly important in World War II. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American Kennel Club and a new group calling itself Dogs for Defense appealed to dog owners across the country to donate quality animals to the Quartermaster Corps.
A weary GI and his pup take a break from the horrors of Vietnam. (Deseret Morning News archives)
Starting in March 1942, the Quartermaster Corps handled the Army's so-called K-9 Corps and undertook the necessary training.
By 1945, they had trained approximately 10,000 war dogs for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Fifteen war dog platoons served overseas in World War II; seven in Europe and eight in the Pacific.
In 1951, responsibility for the dogs was shifted to the Military Police Corps, as they continued to serve in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and other military operations.
The most commonly used dog breeds were German shepherds and Doberman pinschers. Later on, Labradors began to replace the Doberman.
These dogs were able to detect the presence of the enemy at distances up to 1,000 yards — long before the soldiers could see them. When a scout dog detected the enemy, it would stiffen its body, raise its hackles, prick its ears and hold its tail rigid.
"They could detect the wind blowing over a trip wire or smell underwater saboteurs," says Cunningham. There are also documented cases of dogs lying on their handlers to protect them and of dragging wounded soldiers to safety.
"They were so effective in Vietnam that the Viet Cong placed a bounty of $20,000 on the heads of dogs and their handlers," he says.
In recent years, the military has changed its policy on the dogs. They are no longer considered "equipment," and when their tour of duty is done, they are brought back. "They may be assigned to help with rehabilitation," says Cunningham. "They are very effective at that, as well."
War dogs, he says, "have been forgotten service animals. They often get overlooked. But like Seeing Eye dogs and police dogs, they all have such an important place."
Image (Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning News)
His memorial honors them all, he says. "I hope one day I can look back and say I left something good on the face of the Earth. I hope that here, at least, these dogs will be immortal."
