 |
| US Working Dog Teams National Monument |
IT'S not only brave servicemen who risk their lives for their country. Dogs, too, have served on the front line in hot spots all over the world.
Now a 9ft tall bronze sculpture, the US Working Dog Teams National Monument, has been unveiled at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, to recognise the contribution of dogs in combat. Dogs for the military have been trained at Lackland since 1958.
"These dogs were patriots just as much as anybody else who served," said military dog handler John Baker of Fallon, Nevada, whose 212th Military Police Company Detachment A was known as "Hell on Paws."
Sculptor, Paula Slater, said it took thousands of hours' work and was the largest and most complex monument she had ever done.
The monument, inscribed with the words Guardians Of America's Freedom, includes the four main breeds who have served in the military - doberman pinscher, German shepherd, labrador retriever and Belgian malinois.
The memorial was the idea of Vietnam veteran John Burnham, a military working dog handler.
John, who has written two books about combat dogs, was upset that after the war he returned home but had to leave the dogs behind.
His first dog, Timber, was injured in an ambush a few months after they teamed up, so he spent most of his tour with a German shepherd named Clipper.
"He saved my life and saved the lives of others by alerting on ambushes, snipers and booby traps. I wanted to give something back to these animals that have done so much and asked for so little, except for food and water and the love of their handlers," said Burnam, who received the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
He said: "Dog units are worth a million dollars for everything they do ... You can't say enough, you can't give enough accolades to them."
Around 500 dogs of the 2,500 trained are serving on any given day. The U.S. Working Dog Teams National Monument honours every dog that has served in combat since World War II.
Comments