Forgotten, four-legged
heroes of Vietnam

Documentary honors dogs who saved American
lives and never came home
By Valeria Godines

RIVERSIDE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER   
Saturday, February 13, 1999

Corona - They are the forgotten heroes of an unpopular war, four-legged
soldiers who fought bravely in Vietnam.

Blockbuster Vietnam War movies have portrayed the pain and heroism of
human soldiers.  Now there is "War Dogs," a documentary that shows the
contributions that canines made during the war.

Jeff Bennett, chief executive officer of Nature's Recipe Pet Foods, is
the project's executive producer.  The hour-long film will air Monday at
10. P.m. on the Discovery Channel, and it promises to tell the moving
story of the 4,000 dogs who served the American forces in Vietnam as
trackers, scouts and companions.

It will tell how Charlie Cargo's life was saved when his dog, Wolf, bit
his hand to prevent him from walking toward a trip wire hooked to a bomb.
How John Burnam witnessed a mortar attack on the canines near the
Cambodian border.  How one dog, dodging cross fire, dragged a wounded
soldier into the brush.

And how, when the war was over, only 200 dogs went home.  Most of the
rest were destroyed because the government feared they carried disease.

"I don't think the average person knows about this," said Cargo.  "Most
people I've talked to don't even know there were dogs in the military in
Vietnam, and they don't even know what the dogs did."

Throughout the film, touching moments between dogs and soldiers are
shown: A soldier saluting, a dog raising his paw in response.  Soldiers
hugging the furry pooches as they eat, sleep and play together.  Dog
handlers struggling, sometimes crying, when saying goodbye to the dogs
that saved their lives and kept them company.

"There won't be a dry eye in the house," Bennett says.

The film is narrated by actor Martin Sheen and uses actual footage.
until now, Bennett says, the use of dogs in Vietnam was a story that
remained untold.  To make sure the public never forgets, two war dog
memorials will be erected.

Riverside, Arlington cemeteries:

The first will be unveiled on Presidents' Day in 2000 at Riverside
National Cemetery.  The second memorial will be at Arlington National
Cemetery near Washington, C.C.

The memorials, which each will be 16 feet tall and 10 feet wide and made
of bronze and granite will cost about #1.5 million.  Bennett has
contributed $300,000 to the memorials project, and a portion of his
company's dog food sales is being used to cover costs.

The film, paid for by Bennett's company, cost between $1.5 million and
$2 million.  He said he is making no money from the project, which has
been in the works for about 3½ years.

GRB entertainment of Studio City, which produced the documentary,
approached Bennett with the idea.  Tracking down handlers, footage and
records took several years, but it was worth the effort, Bennett said.

Research revealed that the dogs had saved about 10,000 lives.  "These
animals saved so many lives and prevented so many casualties," Bennett
said.  "The tragedy here is that they (the U.S. military) treated them as
excess equipment and basically butchered them."

Most of the dogs were either German shepherds or Labrador retrievers.
The dog handlers developed deep bonds with the dogs and pushed hard to
take them home when the war was over.  But the government refused, saying
dogs could have been carrying disease.  That decision haunts Cargo, 48,
to this day.

Cargo served in the war a year and worked with Wolf for 11 months.  He
recalled the day Wolf, a German shepherd, saved his life.  He and the
rest of the platoon were making their way through the thick jungle when
Wolf stopped short and refused to budge.  Cargo, who had just been
assigned Wolf, tried to coax the dog and to walk around him.  Wolf sunk
his teeth into Cargo's hand.  "I got eye level to him, and that's when I
noticed the trip wire two feet ahead," Cargo said.  "It would have killed
eight or ten of us.  I never ever doubted that dog again."  The Orange
County man still has a scar on his hand, but the real scar is emotional.
He thinks about the lack of recognition for the dogs.

Bronze Star for dog?

The Bronze Star that Cargo earned remains tucked away in a closet.  When
he was awarded the medal for valor, he argued that Wolf should have
received a medal as well.  "That is what was so upsetting.  Why are you
giving this to me?  My dog is the one who deserves this.  He is the hero.
I just interpret what he is saying," Cargo said.  But "the Army didn't
work that way, and I was very upset.....I really felt Wolf should have
gotten it."

The documentary compares the homecoming that dogs received after serving
in World War II.  They were honorably discharged with papers that
reflected their rank and sent home.

Bennett notes the irony of how, like the human soldiers returning from
Vietnam, the dogs lacked a warm homecoming.

"Vietnam was a real stigma...the vets came home and were spit upon," he
said.  Only a few of the dogs even made it home.

The North Vietnamese troops apparently thought highly of the dogs.  So
highly, in fact, that they offered a bounty for the heads of dog handlers
and the tattooed ears of the dogs, according to Bennett.

Burnam, who lives in Virginia, remembers how in 1967, enemy troops
targeted the kennel where his dog, Clipper, was resting.  "We were in the
bunkers and couldn't get to our dogs because the barrage was so intense,"
he recalled.  "The dogs were barking, and we heard the whining.  My dog
happened to be OK, but the dog next to him was killed."

Many of the handlers didn't know where their dogs came from.  Burnam
said he thinks his dog came from Wisconsin and recalls writing letters to
the dog's family during the war.

The documentary also emphasizes the value of the animals. Their keen
sense of smell led soldiers to enemies.  "I hope the public can finally
recognize there were animals there that actually were heroes," Burnam
said.  "They loved their jobs and their masters...the dogs were really
the true heroes."

More information on "War Dogs" can be found on the Internet at

www.war-dogs.com.

Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service