thedrifter
08-07-08, 06:21 AM
August 7, 2008
Tribute honors military dogs
By KRISTY DAVIES
Courier-Post Staff
The guys laughed as Duke, the German shepherd, spun around and did tricks. They clapped as he jumped on his master's back.
A young Francis "Bucky" Grimm turned to his dog and asked him if he would rather be dead or a "jarhead."
Duke rolled over on his back and played "dead" while still wagging his tail.
"Duke, dead dogs don't wag their tails," Grimm said as Duke stopped wagging.
The group of Marines burst into laughter. It was a nice break from the rainy season and violence outside their bunker in Vietnam. The year was 1965.
Duke was one of more than 4,300 dogs who served during the Vietnam War. The dogs were trained to guard bases, scout for enemies and sniff out bombs and booby traps. Duke was a sentry dog -- a guard dog.
Though Grimm made it home after the war, Duke never did.
Only about 230 dogs actually made it back to the United States. At the end of the war, many dogs were turned over to the South Vietnamese and euthanized.
"We were really upset when we found out (in the 1990s)," said Ron Aiello, 63, president of the U.S. War Dogs Association.
The dogs were donated to the military by U.S. citizens, but they were not loaned as in previous conflicts.
"They were treated like a Jeep," said Al Gunderson, 61, of Paramus, who was a sentry dog handler serving in the Air Force. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for King. These dogs . . . saved thousands of lives and a lot gave their own lives."
Aiello, a Burlington Township resident, was a Marine scout dog handler during the Vietnam War and he wanted to pay tribute to the dogs, most of which gave the ultimate sacrifice. In 2000, he started the U.S. War Dogs Association and in 2006, after years of fundraising, the U.S. War Dog Memorial was dedicated at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel, Monmouth County.
"It's the least we could have done for these dogs," said Gunderson, the organization's sergeant-at-arms. "He was my buddy. I would talk to him, be mad at him and he had his . . . off days."
The memorial statue is of a dog handler kneeling beside a German shepherd.
"We thought a memorial would be a great way to thank these canines," Aiello said.
Aiello, who was stationed at Danang Air Base, remembers his dog, Stormy, a female German shepherd. Scout dogs would lead patrols and alert when there was enemy activity the troops could not see or hear.
"One time we came out of the woods into a clearing," he recalled. "Stormy alerted and as I knelt down to see what it was, we were shot at by a sniper."
The platoon he was with quickly took out the sniper.
"They could have been playing ball in the yard and were dealt this hand and handled it," he continued. "They never really got anything out of it. We have a $100,000 statue, but that's just a statue."
Bob Thompson, 59, of the Roebling section of Florence, was an Army scout dog handler during Vietnam and is now the secretary for the organization.
"It's good because it's a little known aspect of the conflict that the dogs served there," he said. "You get to remember those people and the dogs -- they were draftees, too."
Aiello, Grimm, Thompson and Gunderson all believe their dogs saved not only their lives, but their sanity.
"I didn't come back with the problems that others have from Vietnam," Aiello said. "She was kind of a therapy dog."
They all visit the memorial several times a year to remember their canine companions.
It was this bond with the dogs that brought the men together to build the memorial and continue the organization, which now sends packages to military dog teams overseas.
"I don't have the words to explain what it means to me to have this memorial," Grimm said. "It's a debt I feel I owed and still owe."
Reach Kristy Davies at (856) 486-2917 or krdavies@camden.gannett.com
Ellie
Tribute honors military dogs
By KRISTY DAVIES
Courier-Post Staff
The guys laughed as Duke, the German shepherd, spun around and did tricks. They clapped as he jumped on his master's back.
A young Francis "Bucky" Grimm turned to his dog and asked him if he would rather be dead or a "jarhead."
Duke rolled over on his back and played "dead" while still wagging his tail.
"Duke, dead dogs don't wag their tails," Grimm said as Duke stopped wagging.
The group of Marines burst into laughter. It was a nice break from the rainy season and violence outside their bunker in Vietnam. The year was 1965.
Duke was one of more than 4,300 dogs who served during the Vietnam War. The dogs were trained to guard bases, scout for enemies and sniff out bombs and booby traps. Duke was a sentry dog -- a guard dog.
Though Grimm made it home after the war, Duke never did.
Only about 230 dogs actually made it back to the United States. At the end of the war, many dogs were turned over to the South Vietnamese and euthanized.
"We were really upset when we found out (in the 1990s)," said Ron Aiello, 63, president of the U.S. War Dogs Association.
The dogs were donated to the military by U.S. citizens, but they were not loaned as in previous conflicts.
"They were treated like a Jeep," said Al Gunderson, 61, of Paramus, who was a sentry dog handler serving in the Air Force. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for King. These dogs . . . saved thousands of lives and a lot gave their own lives."
Aiello, a Burlington Township resident, was a Marine scout dog handler during the Vietnam War and he wanted to pay tribute to the dogs, most of which gave the ultimate sacrifice. In 2000, he started the U.S. War Dogs Association and in 2006, after years of fundraising, the U.S. War Dog Memorial was dedicated at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel, Monmouth County.
"It's the least we could have done for these dogs," said Gunderson, the organization's sergeant-at-arms. "He was my buddy. I would talk to him, be mad at him and he had his . . . off days."
The memorial statue is of a dog handler kneeling beside a German shepherd.
"We thought a memorial would be a great way to thank these canines," Aiello said.
Aiello, who was stationed at Danang Air Base, remembers his dog, Stormy, a female German shepherd. Scout dogs would lead patrols and alert when there was enemy activity the troops could not see or hear.
"One time we came out of the woods into a clearing," he recalled. "Stormy alerted and as I knelt down to see what it was, we were shot at by a sniper."
The platoon he was with quickly took out the sniper.
"They could have been playing ball in the yard and were dealt this hand and handled it," he continued. "They never really got anything out of it. We have a $100,000 statue, but that's just a statue."
Bob Thompson, 59, of the Roebling section of Florence, was an Army scout dog handler during Vietnam and is now the secretary for the organization.
"It's good because it's a little known aspect of the conflict that the dogs served there," he said. "You get to remember those people and the dogs -- they were draftees, too."
Aiello, Grimm, Thompson and Gunderson all believe their dogs saved not only their lives, but their sanity.
"I didn't come back with the problems that others have from Vietnam," Aiello said. "She was kind of a therapy dog."
They all visit the memorial several times a year to remember their canine companions.
It was this bond with the dogs that brought the men together to build the memorial and continue the organization, which now sends packages to military dog teams overseas.
"I don't have the words to explain what it means to me to have this memorial," Grimm said. "It's a debt I feel I owed and still owe."
Reach Kristy Davies at (856) 486-2917 or krdavies@camden.gannett.com
Ellie