Prince and His Handler: A Happy Ending to a Sad Story

Prince and his handler Ed Reeves served together in Vietnam for a little over one year. Years later after having to leave Prince behind, Reeves learned that Prince was one of the very few war dogs to return home after the US troops pulled out.

Ed Reeves and his scout dog Prince.

Ever since he was a child, Ed Reeves always wanted a German shepherd. Before being drafted into the Army in 1969, the young Reeves helped a police officer train his city's very first police dogs. It was this passion that led him to volunteer for dog training school.

Reeves spent five months training Prince to become a scout dog. Their hard work paid off. Prince, who was responsible for sniffing out enemy troops, mines and tripwires, is credited for saving many lives, including Reeve's... "If it wasn't for him [Prince], I wouldn't be here today. I owe him my life a couple of times. He kept me from stepping on a mine and he kept us out of ambushes."

In 1971, Reeve's returned home and Prince stayed in Vietnam working with a new handler. Reeves said the hardest thing about serving in the Vietnam War was leaving Prince behind. In his book My Search for My Vietnam Scout Dog Prince, Reeve's recounts the last few moments with his dog "I cooked up two steaks, put them on a plate, cut them into little pieces, and went to Prince’s dog house. We sat on the ground and ate the steaks piece by piece. I wasn’t supposed to have contact with Prince because he had a new handler, but I just couldn’t pass up this opportunity."

Some 4,000 dogs served in the US military during the Vietnam War, and many died doing so. It is reported that over 10,000 lives were saved because of the dogs and their handlers. When the US pulled out, only 204 dogs exited Vietnam to continue their military career in the Pacific and US. The thousands of other dogs that survived were left behind to be euthanized or given to the South Vietnamese Army who were not trained to use the dogs - some believe these dogs were used as a food source.

Thirty-five years later, Reeves learned Prince was one of the 204 dogs who exited Vietnam. According to military records, Prince continued his military career as a drug-sniffing dog for US Customs. Eventually, he made his way to a kennel in San Diego where he passed away in 1983 of natural causes.

Tomorrow (Sep 28, 2019) there will be a ceremony at Motts Military Museum near Columbus, Ohio to officially dedicate a memorial to the Vietnam War dogs and their handlers. The monument will feature a life-sized bronze statue of an Army soldier and his dog, and a black granite wall with the names and tattoo numbers of all 4,235 dogs that served and the names of 300 handlers that died in Vietnam.

Kaiser: 1st Vietnam War Dog to Die in Action

Kaiser became famous in history as the first war dog killed in action during Vietnam while leading his men in a search and destroy mission.

In December 1965, Marine Lance Corporal Alfredo Salazar was paired up with a German shepherd named Kaiser and the two quickly formed a close bond. According to Salazar, "He came to me and licked my hand. From then on we were a team." They trained at Fort Benning, Georgia with the Army's 26th Scout Dog Platoon, and after a stint at Camp Pendleton in California the duo was sent to the Republic of Vietnam.

In July 1966, Salazar and Kaiser were leading a patrol through heavy brush toward a small village. After breaking through the undergrowth they were ambushed by the Viet Cong and Kaiser was hit in the initial barrage. As the patrol moved in to attack the enemy, Salazar knelt next to his dog. Kaiser tried to lick his handler's hand one last time right before he died.

Kaiser was carried back to the camp and buried next to a tree near the tents. As a tribute to their fallen comrade, the men named their camp Camp Kaiser. A sign was posted on the site which read "This camp is named in honor of Kaiser a scout dog who gave his life for his country on 6 July 1966 while leading a night combat patrol in Vietnam."

In the short time Salazar and Kaiser knew each other, the two participated in a dozen major operations and made more than 30 combat patrols. After Kaiser's death, Salazar felt he lost "one of the closest friends he ever had."

Nemo: One of the Few Vietnam War Dogs to Return Home

Only about 200 of the more than 4,000 heroic dogs who served in Vietnam made it out - those that did not die were euthanized or left behind when US troops withdrew from the war. Nemo, who became famous for saving his handler's life, was one of the fortunate dogs to return home.

Nemo was born in October 1962 and began his military career with the Air Force in the summer of '64. After completing an eight week training course, the German shepherd and his handler Airman Bryant were assigned to Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington. In January 1966, the two were transferred to the Republic of South Vietnam. They were assigned to the 377th Security Police Squadron stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. Six months later, Bryant rotated back to the US and Nemo was paired with a new handler, 22 year old Airman 2nd Class Robert Thorneburg.

One night in December 1966, Thorneburg and Nemo were on patrol about a quarter mile away from the air base. Not long after they got there, Nemo alerted his handler to the presence of enemy soldiers in the vicinity. Before Thorneburg could radio for help, they were fired on. Thorneburg released his dog and began firing into the enemy. Nemo was shot and wounded, the bullet entered under his right eye and exited through his mouth. Thorneburg was able to kill one Viet Cong soldier before he too was shot in the shoulder and knocked to the ground.

Despite his injury, Nemo refused to give in without a fight. The 85 pound dog threw himself at the guerrillas, giving Thorneburg time to radio for help. A Quick Reaction Team arrived, killing the remaining Viet Cong soldiers. Meanwhile, Nemo had dragged himself over to Thorneburg and crawled on top of his handler's body to protect him from harm.

Nemo wounded in Vietnam

The base veterinarian worked diligently to save Nemo's life. Nemo pulled through but was blinded in the right eye. When the doctor felt Nemo was well enough, the dog was put back on perimeter duty. But it turned out his wounds needed further treatment. On June 23, 1967, Air Force Headquarters directed that Nemo be returned to the US with honors, as the first sentry dog to be officially retired from active service. Thorneburg was taken to Japan to recuperate then also returned home with honors.

On July 22, 1967, Nemo arrived at Kelly Air Force Base in Texas and was welcomed by a committee headed by Captain Robert Sullivan, the officer in charge of the sentry dog training program at Lackland. After settling in, Nemo and Sullivan made a number of cross country tours and television appearances as part of the Air Force's recruitment drive for more war dog candidates. After the US involvement in Vietnam began to wind down, Nemo was given a permanent kennel to retire in at the Department of Defense Dog Center in Texas.

Nemo died shortly before Christmas in December 1972. After a failed attempt to preserve his body, the Vietnam War dog hero was laid to rest on March 15, 1973 at the Department of Defense Dog Center. Nemo's kennel stands today as a memorial in his honor.

Vietnam War Dogs: Heroes Left Behind

Vietnam War dogs became famous in history for saving thousands of lives, then being left behind when US troops pulled out. This outraged many, causing a policy change so it never happens again.

Soldier and scout dog

The Vietnam War was America's most unpopular war, and over 58,000 Americans died. These numbers do not include the American dogs who bravely fought in the war, serving in all four branches of the military. About 4,000 dogs served during the course of the war, and roughly a thousand of these dogs died from direct gunfire, booby traps, accidents, heat stress, snake bites, disease and old age. Only 204 dogs exited Vietnam during the ten year period. Some remained in the Pacific, and some returned to the US. None returned to civilian life. All of the other surviving dogs, considered surplus equipment, were left behind when US troops made their hasty withdrawal from Vietnam. The dogs were either euthanized or given to the South Vietnamese Army who were not trained to handle the dogs.

Dogs have been playing important roles on the battlefield for centuries. Vietnam War dogs performed various tasks: Scout dogs were used to walk ahead of patrols looking for dangers like ambushes and booby traps. Sentry dogs were used to defend camps and other priority areas. Tracker dogs were used to follow the trail of enemies and to locate missing personnel like downed pilots and wounded GIs. Mine/Booby/Tunnel dogs were used to detect devices like mines, trip wires and booby traps, and underground tunnels housing Viet Cong soldiers. They were also used to search villages and suspected areas of enemy built up supplies and weapons. During the Vietnam War, the dogs and their handlers were credited with saving over 10,000 lives. These heroic war dogs were so effective with their jobs, the Viet Cong offered bounties for killing the dogs and their handlers.

Despite pleas from dog handlers who wanted to take their dogs home with them - they were even willing to pay for the dog's flight home themselves despite their meager wages - the military would not permit it. Rick Claggett, a former dog handler, said his Scout dog Big Boy helped him cope with the stress of war, and he will never forget having to leave him behind - he feels the South Vietnamese had no affection for the dogs left behind (even though the dogs helped save their lives too) and, because of their culture, they probably used the dogs as a source of food. Fred Dorr, another former handler, said leaving his Scout dog Sarge behind haunted him. "A lot of us (handlers) suffered PTSD," referring to post-traumatic stress disorder. "It's like leaving your kid back there."

The worth of dogs in the military had been proven in World War I when dogs borrowed from the French and British served as guard dogs and messengers, and assisted the Red Cross by finding the wounded on battlefields. However, the American K9 corps really began during World War II, shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack. Thousands of dogs were donated by American civilians to participate in the war. At the end of the war, the dogs were sent back to their families or retired to live with their handlers. This practice changed by the time US forces entered Vietnam. Recognizing the value of dogs in the service, the military replaced volunteered dogs with professionals - belonging solely to the military, and considered surplus equipment.

Due to lobbying efforts by dog handlers from the Vietnam War and an outcry from people who later found out what had happened to these dogs, Congress enacted a piece of legislation known as the Robby Law in 2000. The purpose is to facilitate the adoption of retired military working dogs by military and civilian adopters. What happened to those brave and dedicated Vietnam War dogs should never happen again.