My heart is with Claggett. The way we treated these canine heroes is scandalous and a black mark on all of us! If anyone knows of a petition we can all sign to support this memorial, please bark in!
The photo is of the New Jersey War Dog Memorial. For more information on this issue, check out the US War Dogs Association site.
Thanks to The Post Chronicle for this article.
Veterans Want Memorial To War Dogs
By Staff
May 28, 2007Congress is considering legislation that would create a privately funded memorial to dogs that have served with the U.S. military.
Until a 2000 law allowed them to be adopted, many of the dogs that served with U.S. soldiers were euthanized by military veterinarians, The Denver Post reported.
Most of the more than 4,000 dogs that served in Vietnam died there. Some were killed by enemy troops, some died of tropical diseases, and some were put down by military veterinarians or given to the South Vietnamese army, the Post reported.
“The day we stood down in 1972, (Gen. William) Westmoreland was pinning medals on us as I watched the South Vietnamese take our dogs away,” Rick Claggett of Denver, who worked with a German shepherd named Big Boy, told the Post. “Today, talking about this, I still choke up. The government shouldn’t have let this happen.”
