Through the hours of darkness, sentry dogs and their handlers patrolled along the perimeters of U.S. Air Force air bases. If the decoy is too stiff, they can jam the dog which can potentially hurt them. He will also be one of the official readers at The Wall in Washington, D.C., afterward. VDHA Officers; Unit Directors; Events . Scout / Tracker Dogs. 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 . It's a 120-day course, where basic skills are learned and, at the unit, they learn more. Only around 200 made it home to retire in peacetime. Click here to view the War Tales fan page on FaceBook. In March, the Air Force sent two instructors, along with ten sentry dogs to assist the Vietnamese air force to establish better base security. Hometown: Needham, Mass. Class John Langley of Venice stood in front of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., and read 30 servicemens names who appear on the memorial together with more than 58,000 others inscribed there forever. | |, Leo He received the Silver Star for alerting the airbase a VC attack was coming. On 1 August, Capt Robert M. Sullivan and 53 air policemen, including six sentry dog/handler teams, were transferred from the 366th Air Police Squadron at Phan Rang Air Base to be the cadre for the newly activated 37th Air Police Squadron at Qui Nhon.Their first assignment was to escort 63 engineers of the 554th and 555th Civil Engineer Squadrons to Ph Ct, and then to assume . In the Vietnam War about 350 dogs were killed in action and 263 handlers were killed. Most novice handlers unknowingly hold the leash up high while their dog is detecting making it lookas though they are holding a purse. Niaomi. Here are the most common terms and what they mean. The toy used as a universal reward for all military working dogs is the kong. Bevich and a group of four other dog handlers and their dogs were on their way to Vietnam and Langley drove them to Logan Airport in Boston for the trip overseas. By the time the handler comes to clean it, the MWD has painted the kennel with feces. During the initial phases of the Vietnam War, German Shepherds were used mainly on Air Force installations as sentry dogs. We were all so young. Marine dog handler Steve Reichenbach with his dog, Major, on a patrol north of Danang in late 1966. . Among those names is Airman 2nd Class George Michael Bevich Jr., the first Air Force dog handler killed on Dec. 4, 1966, in a Viet Cong mortar attack while protecting Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon with his dog, Rex. They loved to work purely for the approval and praise of their handler and partner. considered the last combat action of the Vietnam war. Dog handlers from the 1ATF move towards a RAAF Iroquois helicopter of 9 Squadron during operations against the Viet Cong, 1967. 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. Very few dogs were redeployed to U.S. bases outside of South Vietnam to live out their lives in peace. military dogs are employed, disease education of (Image courtesy of the Security Forces Museum). Sentry dogs would protect military bases and scout dogs would enable the troops to attack the VC. Claims! Watch this tribute to dogs of the Vietnam War. 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. Discharged: 26 Aug. 1968 (LogOut/ The 22-year-old received the Silver Star, for sounding the initial alarm that an enemy attack was under way, and the Purple Heart, both posthumously. share a common bond. All visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. You will never be forgotten. Weapons are not permitted including pocket knives and firearms, to include conceal carry and other dangerous weapons. On Jan. 30, 1968, all hell broke lose. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Dogs and Handlers Lost: Vietnam He researched what became of his dog, Prince, and published the results in a book he self-published in 2016. first Air Force Dog Handler to die in Vietnam. Eventually, almost all of the 4,000 guard dogs were turned over to the South Vietnamese when the U.S. forces pulled out of Vietnam. Handlers attend a three-month training program at Joint Base SA-Lackland to learn dog-handling procedures. (LogOut/ Reeves was a dog handler in Vietnam. Equipped with their sensory superpowers, the . The program that deals with the Department of Defense Military working dog program is the United States Air Force. While stationed in Thailand with the 56th Security Police Squadron Bob formed a steadfast relationship with his military working dog Rex. Since then both King and Reeves have been able to see the records of their dogs. Expertly trained by New Zealands elite Special Air Service in Malaysia, their dogs were initially provided by the British military. Stamps, a military working dog handler with the 35th Security Forces Squadron, describes this as "battling a streak of stubbornness" taken on during the two-week rapport stage destined to nurture their new relationship. It was an experience that, for Air Force Staff Sgt. The 20-year-old airman was paired with a 75-pound female German shepherd named Vogie., These dogs were just like having a child. 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. As a result, allhandlers in the militaryuse key terms and phrases that every handler will understand. Search-and-destroy missions used a handler and his scout dog to walk point, out in the jungle, able to raise an alarm about an ambush long before most of the unit was in danger. MWDs build up a lot ofmomentum when they run after the decoy. A Marine dog handler I knew finished his 13-month tour of duty in 1969 and was told his dog, Taddy, was being transferred to the ARVN. They must have established a very strong bond with these dogs and when one of the team gets wounded or killed thee emotions of loosing your best friend is embedded in your brain forever. Cam Rahn Bay Vietnam Our training instructors seemed to take a perverse pleasure in informing us how dumb we were compared with the dogs. Stormys first master was Ron Aiello, President ofwww.uswardogs.org. In Vietnam, American forces used dogs for everything from base security to detecting ambushes to hunting down fleeing enemy units. U.S. Marine dog handler, Corporal Michael Galloway and his Scout Dog, Stormy search a tunnel and find an enemy satchel of explosives ( Vietnam 1970). 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. A few of them were euthanized or they became dinner for some Vietnamese family. While serving as a dog handler. John Davis, 3rd SPS, Bien Hoa AB, 1969 Photo Courtesy of Paul Kaiser, Bien Thuy Vietnam 1967/68 The next several days we spent out in the bush hiding out and staying out of the clutches of the VC. He and his shepherd were stationed 3 miles from the fence surrounding the airbase along a path surrounded by jungle. Please email me with information. Reeves attended the dedication of the new memorial. He flew home and another airman took over handling his shepherd, which remained in the war zone. Photo provided It was well known that the enemy put a bounty on both the handlers and their dogs. control, although ehrlichiosis still remains a PRINCE 986A GS Gary Mather/ Edward L. Reeves (70 . The Labradors, with their amazing noses, went straight to tracker training. * A2C George Bevich, Jr. was the During the day, they would truck C-rations and water out to us and we stayed put.. Not a pleasant thought to consider given their incredible service, endurance, and devotion to duty. Chemical Exposure! Kyle Pethtel, a dog handler with the 27th Special Operations Security Forces, was fun and filled with challenges for both canine and. Private donations poured in and a major $50,000 grant from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission was key in getting the project off the ground. eighteen Security Police personnel KIA) were on the CH-53helicopter VSPA USMC & Handlers from our allies killed in Vietnam, Thailand, The retirement was followed by his adoption by former handler Staff Sgt. History, Natural We knew that, unlike other soldiers, we at least had our dog with us so we would never be alone. share a common bond. Tracker dogs were trained to track based on blood trails, odors, and other evidence of someone having . Night Beat, Cold Nose-Brave Hearts Legendary War Dogs, Handlers & (U.S. Air Force photo). and secondary sources, describes the epizootic, Your email address will not be published. https://www.vvmf.org/topics/Dogs-of-the-Vietnam-War/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoqvA8xafKg, https://www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals/, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK63b6Cn53unMMj-yZYEch0RuYy1YN1zl, Vietnam Dog Handlers Association http://www.vdha.us/. I was 20 years old and weighed 135 pounds; Smokey weighed 90 pounds. Every dog responded to both verbal and nonverbal hand commands. Over time, you will have the opportunity to advance into higher ranks. He completed K9 training at Lackland. All of the other dog handlers were doing the same thing. Chet Moore gets another car. Dog teams were placed on the perimeter in front of machine gun towers/bunkers. Air Force K9 Dog Handler Careers. The granite panels were designed and constructed by Columbus Art Memorial. Unit:377th Security Police Officer '66-'67, Steve Janeke & Sentry Dog Kobuc X448 The Vietnam War introduced American troops to a new kind of warfare. stories/photos Benning Military Working Dog Memorial, Dogs and Handlers Lost: Vietnam On November 1, 1964, between 12:25 and 12:33 AM, Vietnamese Communist (VC) troops attacked Bien Hoa Air Base with six 81-mm mortars positioned about 400 meters north, outside the air base. Richard Cunningham served as a sentry dog handler in Vietnam and later worked with the New York Police Department and as a fraud investigator. Army Military Working Dog Handlers (MOS 31K) are responsible for training and caring for their service dog. Then they were observed and tested to determine which area of training they would be assigned. He says that if it wasnt for Prince on those two days, his name would be on the monument. South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam in 1975, which officially ended the war. Labs were friendly, handled the heat okay and had a natural instinct for tracking ground scent. 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. Deadly Disease for Military Working Dogs in SEA (South East-Asia) The United States employed large numbers of military working dogs as sentries, scouts, trackers, and mine detectors in Vietnam. (Air Force photo/Lisa Camplin) "Feed the Dawgs is a U.S. Veterans group of Vietnam era dog handlers who travel from base-to-base to provide a meal for K-9 handlers and their families," said Kenneth Neal, Vietnam Dog Handlers Association member. Photo provided. deaths. Air Force dog handlers provided a unique and critical capability in defending air bases against attack. Tom King was another handler who attended. RECONNECTING = PRICELESS. United States War Dog Association (USWDA) was established in 2000 by 5 dog handlers (Ron Aiello, Bucky Grimm, Bob Cicero, Bob Thompson, and Al Gunderson) who served in Vietnam. Air Force dog handlers provided a unique and critical capability in defending air bases against attack. Click on the title to read a short history. . Lisa Rogak, in " The Dogs of War," commented that the Viet Cong offered the equivalent of $20,000 for a dog's ear; proof of the handler's death only garnered the equivalent of $10,000. Det. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. To Sandbox 71-72', Complete History of Air Your Assignments. The 341st Military Working Dog Center will only consider applicants who meet the minimum requirements previously listed.