Military veterinarians launched an VA Volunteer and Vietnam Veteran Recalls Dog Handling Days "Anka," a female German shepherd, was paired with Airman 1st Class Edward McClouds in 1969 at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, his first duty station after sentry dog training. information on joining. Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Richard Cunningham served as a sentry dog handler in Vietnam and later worked with the New York Police Department and as a fraud investigator. - Camera bags I added other services because all dog handlers K-9 Issues Their keen senses, learning ability, physical endurance, and devotion to man have made them invaluable companions on battlefields both past and present. Fritz and King were shipped to Vietnam in January 1967. as Air Police / Chet Moore gets another car. Under PROJECT TOP DOG 145, the U.S. Air Force sent 40 sentry dogs and 40 handlers to South Vietnam in the summer of 1965. During the ground war, Veterinarians and Vet Techs were also deployed throughout South Vietnam to help manage the diets and medial health of the war dogs. Website Last Updated: While serving as a dog handler and sentry in Montana, Bob was called to protect one of the last American bases in Southeast Asia after the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam in 1973, known as Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base. These dogs and their handlers are credited with saving more than 10,000 U.S. lives (imagine The Wall with 10,000 more names inscribed on it) and preventing certain injury for countless more. Due in large part to their collective efforts, Robbys Law was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000. - Strollers Tokeep the dog motivated, its important the handler staymotivated. Unit:377th Security Police The enemy was rarely able to get past the keen senses of the sentry dogs unnoticed, and these sentry dog teams remained by far the most effective means to detect enemy movement at night. When Reeves investigated the spot where he nearly stepped, he found an unexploded shell that had been rigged as a mine. We now have 2,000 former dog handlers in our organization today., Airman 2/C George Bevich, a dog handler in Vietnam is pictured with his dog, Rex. The program that deals with the Department of Defense Military working dog program is the United States Air Force. D.O.B: 27 Sept. 1946 Enemy fighters used the jungle to their advantage, employing guerilla tactics (such as ambushes, mines, tunnels, and traps) in ways that U.S. troops hadnt encountered before. Mabins also has the distinction of being the first African American female dog handler in the Air Force. Claims! No handler wants to hear reverse. Whendoing detection with their MWD, if a handler hears reverse from the instructor, they know they missed the training aid and now must do the embarrassing action of backtracking. experience proved that canine ehrlichiosis can Stars & Stripes, The King was stationed as a military policeman at Lockbourne Air Force Base (now known as Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base) in Columbus, Ohio, when a commanding officer sent him to be trained as a dog handler. Fort Photo Above shows the terrible wound suffered by Nemo. " Federal Benefits for dependents and survivors. Photo provided free to copy photos or stories. Bill was the first SEAL to handle Dogs in SEAL Team. Change). This study He says that if it wasnt for Prince on those two days, his name would be on the monument. Instead, they are offered first to former military dog handlers, then to law enforcement, and finally to qualified families, who undergo a rigorous screening process. The list also specifies the dogs that were returned in VDHA Officers; Unit Directors; Events . This was considered the last combat action of the Vietnam war. Also Read: 5 Fake Enemies US Troops Have Been Battling For Decades. Old Dawgs Supporting Young Pups, Bulletin Boards: Handlers attend a three-month training program at Joint Base SA-Lackland to learn dog-handling procedures. Hear him talk about his service, from parachuting with Prince, to lying on ambush in Vietnam with Prince. And there was no war dog adoption law until the year 2000 when WWII Marine War Dog Platoon Leader/Veterinarian, Dr. William Putney made it happen with the help of U.S. 71-72', list all USAF, USN, USA, Forty dog teams were deployed to Vietnam for a four month test period. The 20-year-old airman was paired with a 75-pound female German shepherd named Vogie., These dogs were just like having a child. We talked on the phone several times in the last few years, and finally we were able to meet in El Paso, TX for a short visit. In 1960 the US advisers to the the South Vietnamese military recommended that a dog program be established. When U.S. forces exited from Vietnam only 200 of the dogs made it back to the states. Detect the presence of a force, alert or observe without enemy force detection; Assist security forces by scouting and tracking; Work safely in close proximity to friendly forces on strike teams, reconnaissance and ambush patrols without becoming distracted or agitated. He began contacting his former dog-handler buddies and eventually formed the nucleus of a dog-handler group known today as the Vietnam Dog Handlers Association. I just dont get it ! * Firearms, to include conceal carry and other dangerous weapons, are specifically prohibited in Federal facilities in accordance with 18 USC 930 (c) Once in Vietnam, these dogs were the gold standard. PRINCE 7X01 Raymond Chapman Navy Vietnam/U.S. When a handler asks another handler to decoy for their MWD. Story All visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. In RECONNECTING = PRICELESS. To do this they need to make noises and watching them scream and grunt for the first time can be hilarious. In late March 1967, Langley arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base and became a member of the 377th Security Police (K9). History. Air Base Defense 1975-76 to the DOD Dog Center, Lackland AFB, Texas. (War Dog Previsional), and his dog wait at a helipad for an early evening flight to a combat area. The handler and dog led combat patrols and provided an early silent warning of danger. It consists of three black granite panels which are made of granite from the same area of India that provided the granite for the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. On the panels are inscribed the names of 4,244 dogs that served during the war and 297 names of the dog handlers plus one veterinarian and two vet technicians who died in Vietnam. As a result, allhandlers in the militaryuse key terms and phrases that every handler will understand. 1953 - Some of the first K-9 to be used in the Korean war. As soon as that happened, I got on my walkie-talkie and alerted the base. Your At Okinawa, where I met and trained with Smokey, most of the dogs were veterans being reassigned to new handlers. Open9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Hereare the most common terms and what they mean. The volunteer force, nicknamed Merrill's Marauders, executed skilled fighting tactics in the Burmese jungles to defeat the veteran soldiers of the Japanese 18th Division. Search Page Content . A contingent of former Vietnam dog handlers will be there standing with Langley as part of the Veterans Day services at The Wall this week. The following are the types of jobs the K-9 teams performed during ground operations with the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy in the Vietnam War: The German shepherd dog was the only breed trained for this job. problem among military working dogs. I laugh at some of the things we all did. The first class that included women was held in early 1975. BalanceRose Under PROJECT TOP DOG 145, the U.S. Air Force sent 40 sentry dogs and 40 handlers to South Vietnam in the summer of 1965. Allhandlers will learn how todecoy aka pretend to be the bad guy and its important they know how to agitate properly toprovoke the dog to bite them. . I know I felt it with Smokey. Bill Cummings, a retired Air Force K-9 handler, in his home on April 14, 2018. in Marana, Ariz. Cummings helps former dog handlers find out the fates of military working dogs from the Vietnam era. Interest Langley decided to do something about it. The sculpture was created by Alan Cottrill, a sculptor from Zanesville, Ohio. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. The success of these teams, combined with those working in U.S. law. the epizootic. May Iforward it to other vets online?Thank you,Leo G. Hernandez 602-359-9628, If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for a reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed., From: War Tales To: leohernan@yahoo.com Sent: Sunday, August 9, 2015 10:38 PM Subject: [New post] Vietnam dog handlers recognized at The Wall Veterans Week #yiv0250566932 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv0250566932 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv0250566932 a.yiv0250566932primaryactionlink:link, #yiv0250566932 a.yiv0250566932primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv0250566932 a.yiv0250566932primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv0250566932 a.yiv0250566932primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv0250566932 WordPress.com | Don Moore posted: At 6:06 a.m. Thursday, former Airman 1st. LAYTON, Utah --. Handlers must get to know their dogs change of behavior so they know their MWD is about to find something. I was a sentry dog handler in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, a member of the 212th Military Police Sentry Dog Company stationed in Tay Ninh. K9 Butkus Explosive detector school Lackland 1980. omen were first added to the military working dog program in 1974. Photo courtesy of Captain Humberto "Bert" Garcia Flight Med. 366th SPS History. Fritz was trained to be a sentry dog. Tragically, after the Vietnam War, military dogs were left behind and not brought home with their handlers. All of the other dog handlers were doing the same thing. Kyle Pethtel, a dog handler with the 27th Special Operations Security Forces, was fun and filled with challenges for both canine and. The Great Pademic of Rapid City, 2020. . Veterinarians, Adopting Dogs Less aggressive but still highly intelligent shepherd dogs went to the scout school. As Nemo charged, Throneburg killed two enemy troops. + $1.00 shipping. If the decoy is too stiff, they can jam the dog which can potentially hurt them. Army Military Working Dog Handlers (MOS 31K) are responsible for training and caring for their service dog. serologic screening of prospective and active Esteban Rivera, 2 July 2014 The water dogs proved to be quite successful in saving lives and equipment, reducing the enemys capacity to conduct underwater sabotage operations. Your email address will not be published. We were all so young. Vietnam, 1961. King learned that Fritz was euthanized after the war. The United States employed large numbers of military working dogs. Labs were friendly, handled the heat okay and had a natural instinct for tracking ground scent. A retirement ceremony for Morgen, a military working dog with more than eight years of service, was held Feb. 24 at the 88th Security Forces facility on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam in 1975, which officially ended the war. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will provide another unique opportunity for visitors to honor Presidents Day and the legacy of Special Air Mission (SAM) Presidential Transport aircraft through "Plane Talks" on Saturday, February 18 from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. While serving as a dog handler and sentry in Montana, Bob was called to protect one of the last American bases in Southeast Asia after the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam in 1973, known as Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base. There are over 1300 working Dog handler teams worldwide, and the . During the initial phases of the Vietnam War, German Shepherds were used mainly on Air Force installations as sentry dogs. Military Working Dog Ttoby, 23d Security Forces Squadron, prepares for an MWD demonstration, Feb. 2, 2017, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Ttoby is a Belgian Malinois and specializes in personnel protection and detecting explosives. Through the hours of darkness, sentry dogs and their handlers patrolled along the perimeters of U.S. Air Force air bases. For example, you can join the Army K9 unit. Photo provided, https://donmooreswartales.com/2015/08/10/john-langley/. The program was a huge failure. It was Langleys and Vogies duty to hide out in the underbrush and sit quietly from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning watching, listening and staying out of sight. President As we navigate rapidly evolving military culture and Like any deployed troops, Russian soldiers make calls Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! What did the S. Vietnamese Army do to the dogs, eat them? I read they given to the S. Vietnamese Army or euthanized. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. These dogs are credited with saving more than 10,000 lives. When an MWDis released to bite, handlers want them to get a full mouth bite, clench tight, and hold on until the handler gets there so the suspect cant get away. The handler trusted the dog with his life, and the dog was absolutely loyal, even to the death. Home | Join VDHA | Membership Renewal | Contact Us | Member Login 2023 VDHA All Rights reserved. Within minutes, the base was all lit up. Or copy and paste this, which is the link: https://donmooreswartales.com/2015/08/10/john-langley/. Then on February 14, 1971, Prince stopped Reeves as he was about to step over a fallen tree. Reeves has volunteered at Motts Military Museum since 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo). Vietnam Security Police Association Air Force Seurity Police Association State Representative MI [ Edit | View] Replies: Re: 35th Security Police Squadron-- James David, Kilo 5 69-70, 10:56:49 04/22/03 TuePDT. Vice president Ernie Ayala says that it is difficult to think about how these dogs saved their lives and in return the handlers went home and left the dogs behind. The XM177 series was deployed to Vietnam being used by a variety of units, including US Army Military Police and US Air Force Combat Security Police (primarily by dog handlers) and US. Fortunately he had also become a member and responded to my email. In March, the Air Force sent two instructors, along with ten sentry dogs to assist the Vietnamese air force to establish better base security. Smokey and I typically worked at night, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., but we would also conduct daylight area sweeps when temporarily attached to infantry units. He was killed in a Viet Cong mortar attack in December 1966. Whenever he visits the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., he looks at the names of the soldiers who died on September 12, 1970, and on February 14, 1971. If you are interested in adopting one of the dogs, please email the adoptions coordinator at MWD.Adoptions@us.af.mil ; we will email you an application packet.. Meeting the dogs: Approved applicants will be given an opportunity to schedule an appointment to travel to the . be successfully treated with tetracycline; this As a result, all handlers in the military use key terms and phrases that every handler will understand. or photos. History, Natural The Vietnam Dog Handler Association formed to help these veterans cope with the guilt of leaving their dogs behind. Most were given to the military by families back home. A patrol from 1RAR makes its way through the wire on Coral's. This Page is for our Air Force's Dog Handler,K9 Unit; experiences before and during our time at Cam Ranh AB, Vietnam. At this time the only Air Force involvement had been supporting (with the US Army ) the Vietnamese Sentry Dog program. Every dog accepted was highly intelligent, and each became a canine soldier, with his or her own individual four-digit service number tattooed in the left ear. Most of the dogs that survived the war were either euthanized or sent to work for the South Vietnamese Army. $75. Nemo returned to Lackland in July 1967 as a part of an Air Force dog recruitment team. Since then, no adoptable dogs are euthanized at the end of their military service. All rights reserved. Note: Working on this list, USAF All Rights Reserrved. Approximately 350 dogs were killed in action, many more were wounded, and 263 handlers were killed. and secondary sources, describes the epizootic, Dogs and their handlers went through three phases of instruction: drill/obedience, aggression, and scouting. From here, you can become an active duty dog handler. The assistant director of the museum, Lori Motts-Byrd, began raising funds in order to build a memorial to the dogs and the men who worked with them. military working dogs as sentries, scouts, Dogs could even detect enemy fighters submerged in rivers, breathing through hollow reeds and waiting to attack American watercraft. To Sandbox, Vietnam While stationed in Thailand with the 56th Security Police Squadron Bob formed a steadfast relationship with his military working dog Rex. New Zealands elite Special Air Service in Malaysia, Throughout the course of the war, 4,000 dogs served in Vietnam and Thailand, A human nose has about five million scent receptors, Dogs and their handlers went through three phases of instruction: drill/obedience, New Zealand's elite Special Air Service in Malaysia. Marine dog handler Steve Reichenbach with his dog, Major, on a patrol north of Danang in late 1966. . Visitors are welcome to listen and interact with SAM subject matter experts located throughout the Presidential Gallery in . Security Police dog handlers serving in Viet Nam and Thailand during Viiet Nam war. You will never be forgotten. This story was first published in the Charlotte Sun newspaper, Port Charlotte, Fla. on Sunday, November 11, 2007 and is republished with permission. Reeves grew up loving dogs so he volunteered for the opportunity to be a dog handler. Dogs have been mans partners in war for a long time. The dog handlers begged and pleaded for the government to let them take thier dogs home. Reeves attended the dedication of the new memorial. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. A retirement ceremony for Morgen, a military working dog with more than eight years of service, was held Feb. 24 at the 88th Security Forces facility on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. . On their first day in Vietnam, they barely survived a firefight with the enemy. In 1965, the Air Force prepped 40 handler-and-dog teams at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, for missions in Vietnam. Dogs of SEA. Parade Float, History WWI & I dont know what all that means up there but what you might want to do is copy the link that the page is on and share it that way. All Rights Reserved. You had to be careful not to get in an area that was being hit by one of these dragon ships or a helicopter gun ship. SOURCE: Military Working Dogs National Monument, I have searched endlessly to find out what fate the scout dogs, Vietnam War, had. In the jungles of Vietnam, nearly 4,000 specially trained dogs served in a variety of combat roles, reportedly saving tens of thousands of U.S. troops from injury and death. Air Force dog handlers provided a unique and critical capability in defending air bases against attack. It wont be like it was when he first attended the ceremony a quarter century ago with no recognition for the dog handlers. I belong to an organization today that honors the Viet Nam dog handlers. 00, 000, 0000 000 General Military Duty 0001 Duties Unassigned 0002 General Officer 0003 "Relieved From Duty, Sick in Hospital or Quarters" 0005 ROTC Officer Awaiting Entry On Active Duty . Credited with saving Throneburg's life, Nemo was hailed as a hero. They chased down the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army forces after a firefight when they would attempt to disappear back into the jungle. Approximately 4,000 dogs served in the Vietnam War leading patrols with their handlers. I know you have a son and I know that he had to be very proud of you. - Water bottles (clear, sealed bottle, up to 20 oz.)