MtnBiker
Senior Member
Carl Adams knew his friend Andy would never return from Vietnam.
The two spent the better part of a year and a half on patrol by themselves outside the Phan Rang Air Force Base, near the South China Sea. They had such a dangerous job during the war that it was done on a volunteer basis only.
They were the first line of defense and held the safety of the base in their hands.
Andy never complained about spending every night on watch, trying to detect enemy movements in extreme darkness. He never showed fear and would give his life to protect his fellow soldiers.
Carl got to know Andy those nights on patrol. He knew him so well Andy didn't have to make a sound if he spotted something -- body language said enough.
When the time came for Carl to leave the base in 1968, he knew Andy would stay behind and help someone else through those nights.
Like many who left or were transferred, Carl parted from his friend without knowing what became of him, but he was certain he never came back to the United States.
Years passed before a breakthrough. In 2000, Carl found out what happened to his friend. Andy had died in Vietnam in June 1970.
There was no ceremony for the fallen hero. No name etched on The Wall in Washington D.C.
Carl and other Vietnam veterans have not forgotten the sacrifices Andy, and others like him, made for their country. And they are trying to get a dog handlers memorial erected in the nation's capital to pay tribute to the forgotten canine heroes estimated to have saved some 10,000 lives.
Andy was one of 4,000 dogs used in Vietnam -- most were German shepherds like Andy.
"Our real mission was to save lives," Carl said from his suburban Chicago home.
Carl is joined by 1,800 other Vietnam vets who were dog handlers there and are now part of the Vietnam Dog Handler Association. They are trying to raise money and gain government approval for a war memorial. And when Carl speaks today at the Columbia County Humane Society Banquet at the Blankenhaus, he will tell his and Andy's story, and how they need your help.
When Carl was 19, he and his friends thought that the fastest way they could get to Vietnam and help their country was to join a military program as a dog handler.
So they joined the Air Force.
"The dogs that we went through with, in dog school, were sent separately to Vietnam," he said, noting that they were assigned dogs once arriving overseas.
Andy was in Vietnam for a year when Carl was assigned to him. There were five different programs to which he could have been assigned. There were scout dogs, a mine and booby trap unit, water dogs that could smell the enemy 30 feet underwater, track dogs that were lab retrievers, and sentry dogs, highly aggressive dogs that patrolled areas with only their handlers at night.
"There was 20 miles of perimeter and 53 dogs, and we worked 1 to 2 miles from the base," Carl said.
Any sound by Andy could give away their position, so Andy would relay activity to Carl through body language, and then Carl would radio back to base for help if needed.
"I could tell with Andy if he was alerting to an animal, a snake, another human being, and if it was an American or Vietnamese," he said.
Andy had four handlers before he died in Vietnam. He contracted a disease from a tick and was put to sleep.
Had Andy not gotten the disease, he still wouldn't have come home. Carl said no dog came home even when the troops left. "They were considered excess equipment," he said.
Dogs that weren't put down were given to the South Vietnamese and never heard from again, Carl said. About 250 dogs were transferred to other bases.
The quest to build a memorial has been an uphill climb. But through his book, "Remember the Alamo, A Sentry Dog Handler's View of Vietnam from the Perimeter of Phan Rang Air Base," and speeches, Carl and others are trying to make the country aware of their cause. So far the National War Dog Memorial Fund has raised $100,000, but Adams acknowledges that there is a long way to go.
"We're lobbying very actively," he said.
For Carl, Andy was so much more than the ID number -- 314F -- stamped on his ear. He was a soldier, a protector and a friend -- one worthy of remembering for a lifetime.
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The forgotten soldiers: canines who served in Vietnam
By Craig Spychalla - Daily Register
link
The two spent the better part of a year and a half on patrol by themselves outside the Phan Rang Air Force Base, near the South China Sea. They had such a dangerous job during the war that it was done on a volunteer basis only.
They were the first line of defense and held the safety of the base in their hands.
Andy never complained about spending every night on watch, trying to detect enemy movements in extreme darkness. He never showed fear and would give his life to protect his fellow soldiers.
Carl got to know Andy those nights on patrol. He knew him so well Andy didn't have to make a sound if he spotted something -- body language said enough.
When the time came for Carl to leave the base in 1968, he knew Andy would stay behind and help someone else through those nights.
Like many who left or were transferred, Carl parted from his friend without knowing what became of him, but he was certain he never came back to the United States.
Years passed before a breakthrough. In 2000, Carl found out what happened to his friend. Andy had died in Vietnam in June 1970.
There was no ceremony for the fallen hero. No name etched on The Wall in Washington D.C.
Carl and other Vietnam veterans have not forgotten the sacrifices Andy, and others like him, made for their country. And they are trying to get a dog handlers memorial erected in the nation's capital to pay tribute to the forgotten canine heroes estimated to have saved some 10,000 lives.
Andy was one of 4,000 dogs used in Vietnam -- most were German shepherds like Andy.
"Our real mission was to save lives," Carl said from his suburban Chicago home.
Carl is joined by 1,800 other Vietnam vets who were dog handlers there and are now part of the Vietnam Dog Handler Association. They are trying to raise money and gain government approval for a war memorial. And when Carl speaks today at the Columbia County Humane Society Banquet at the Blankenhaus, he will tell his and Andy's story, and how they need your help.
When Carl was 19, he and his friends thought that the fastest way they could get to Vietnam and help their country was to join a military program as a dog handler.
So they joined the Air Force.
"The dogs that we went through with, in dog school, were sent separately to Vietnam," he said, noting that they were assigned dogs once arriving overseas.
Andy was in Vietnam for a year when Carl was assigned to him. There were five different programs to which he could have been assigned. There were scout dogs, a mine and booby trap unit, water dogs that could smell the enemy 30 feet underwater, track dogs that were lab retrievers, and sentry dogs, highly aggressive dogs that patrolled areas with only their handlers at night.
"There was 20 miles of perimeter and 53 dogs, and we worked 1 to 2 miles from the base," Carl said.
Any sound by Andy could give away their position, so Andy would relay activity to Carl through body language, and then Carl would radio back to base for help if needed.
"I could tell with Andy if he was alerting to an animal, a snake, another human being, and if it was an American or Vietnamese," he said.
Andy had four handlers before he died in Vietnam. He contracted a disease from a tick and was put to sleep.
Had Andy not gotten the disease, he still wouldn't have come home. Carl said no dog came home even when the troops left. "They were considered excess equipment," he said.
Dogs that weren't put down were given to the South Vietnamese and never heard from again, Carl said. About 250 dogs were transferred to other bases.
The quest to build a memorial has been an uphill climb. But through his book, "Remember the Alamo, A Sentry Dog Handler's View of Vietnam from the Perimeter of Phan Rang Air Base," and speeches, Carl and others are trying to make the country aware of their cause. So far the National War Dog Memorial Fund has raised $100,000, but Adams acknowledges that there is a long way to go.
"We're lobbying very actively," he said.
For Carl, Andy was so much more than the ID number -- 314F -- stamped on his ear. He was a soldier, a protector and a friend -- one worthy of remembering for a lifetime.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The forgotten soldiers: canines who served in Vietnam
By Craig Spychalla - Daily Register
link
