War Dog Memorial

Honoring All Who Sacrificed

Memorial Day is now behind us. I hope you had a chance to remember and honor the great men and women that gave their lives for this country. Without a doubt, we should never forget their ultimate sacrifice. That said, there is another military service group worthy of a bit of recognition and honor as well. Military Working Dogs (MWD) have been routinely used by our military since World War I. In the last 100 years, the MWD trained to find wounded, serve as scouts/sentries, and detect ambushes. More recently, the MWD duties tended to focus more on explosive and IED detection. Whatever their duty, thousands of dogs of paid the ultimate price in service to their country. These dogs are worthy of our recognition. At this point in my travels, no place has done a better job of this recognition than the War Dog Memorial in South Lyon, Michigan.

Its Hard Not to Cry

If you are human, this Memorial will pull all your heart strings. For the more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the grave markers give specific military history and credentials. Furthermore, the grave markers often reflect the words of the human soldiers that served with the MWD.

While these very personal tributes were intense, the crown jewel of the Memorial is the Vietnam K9 Memorial Wall. The US Military deployed 4,234 Military Working Dogs in Vietnam. Sadly, some of these dogs died fighting the war. Even more sadly, the Military left most of the remaining dogs behind. At that time, the military classified the dogs as “equipment.” When the orders came to pull out of Vietnam, standard procedures were to leave excess “equipment’ behind. Sad, but true. The majority of the 4,234 were left in Vietnam to whatever fate awaited. To ensure that each and every one of these beloved MWDs were not forgotten, all of the names were recorded on the Vietnam K9 Memorial Wall…

Full Disclosure

As I have said before, I believe in full disclosure whenever it suits my purpose. The War Dog Memorial included other dogs beyond Military Working Dogs. There were some markers for law enforcement dogs, service dogs, and therapy dogs, etc. I even saw a few that were just designated as “pet” markers. You know what…that’s OK too. War Dogs are impressive, but our “pets” are worthy of a lasting tribute as well. Plus, you have to pay the cemetery bills somehow. Here is a random collection of other sites at the War Dog Memorial.

Wrap It Up

OK, perhaps that was not the humorous, uplifting blog that I usually write. But, it needed to be written. Perhaps, the recent Memorial Day Holiday and the passing of my beloved Tonks was my inspiration. Whatever my motivation, I enjoyed writing the story of the War Dog Memorial. If you must be in the lower half of Michigan, here is a site that is actually worth visiting. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed “War Dog Memorial” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

If you enjoyed that dog memorial, here is another https://travelingwithpt.com/ode-to-the-coonhound/

If you want to visit the War Dog Memorial, here you go http://mwdm.org/index.php