Canine Warrior: How a Vietnam Scout Dog Inspired a National Monument

by John C. Burnam

Overview

During his second tour as a US Army infantryman during the Vietnam War, John Burnam became a scout-dog handler. On combat missions, he learned of the dogs' amazing abilities: With superior senses of sight, hearing, and smell, the dogs were highly skilled at finding enemy caches of ammunition and supplies, hidden base camps, and concealed tunnel entrances, and they saved countless lives by enabling American troops to avoid booby traps and ambushes.

By 1983, when Burnam retired from military service, he had developed a compelling interest in the history of America's war dogs. Recognizing the invaluable service of the dogs and their handlers, he became passionate about the idea of a monument to honor them. When he launched the project, he couldn't imagine what a lengthy process it would be, but thanks to his efforts and those of his colleagues, the National Monument for U.S. Military Working Dog Teams has been built at Lackland Air Force Base, near San Antonio, Texas, where all of America's military dog teams are trained.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935448242
Publisher:	Lost Coast Press
Publication date:	05/19/2014
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

JOHN C. BURNAM served as a United States Army combat infantryman and scout-dog handler from 1966—1968. His service awards include the Legion of Merit medal; Combat Infantry Badge; Purple Heart; Bronze Star; Air Medal; Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry Ribbon; Meritorious Service medal; Army Achievement medal; Paratrooper Wings; a Presidential Unit Citation; a Vietnam Civic Actions medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm Leaf.

In 1983, Master Sergeant Burnam retired from the army and made Washington, D.C., his home. John is now a senior writer/editor on information technology with Bart & Associates, Inc. of McLean, Virginia. As president of the John Burnam Monument Foundation, Inc., he was integral in founding the National Monument for U.S. Military Working Dog Teams, which is located at Lackland Air Force Base, near San Antonio, Texas. Also a veteran of myriad media appearances, John has been featured in several documentary films. His first published book was Dog Tags of Courage (Lost Coast Press, 2006).

Table of Contents

Dedication v

Acknowledgments ix

Chapter 1 Camp Alpha 1

Chapter 2 Garry Owen 6

Chapter 3 Ia Drang Valley 15

Chapter 4 Operation Davy Crockett 31

Chapter 5 Wounded in Action 57

Chapter 6 106th General Hospital 66

Chapter 7 Sentry Dog Platoon 74

Chapter 8 Return to Vietnam 93

Chapter 9 Dau Tieng Base Camp 98

Chapter 10 44th Scout Dog Platoon 105

Chapter 11 Meet Timber 112

Chapter 12 Ambush 116

Chapter 13 Meet Clipper 134

Chapter 14 Tinzer's Alert 140

Chapter 15 Death in the Kennel 142

Chapter 16 Trapped 154

Chapter 17 Booby Traps 178

Chapter 18 The Capture 198

Chapter 19 Beau, Ringo, and Base-camp Lore 204

Chapter 20 Rat Patrol 215

Chapter 21 Cu Chi-PX Driver-Short-Timers 218

Chapter 22 TET Offensive and Convoy to Saigon 229

Chapter 23 Goodbye, Clipper 245

Chapter 24 Leaving Vietnam 250

Chapter 25 Life After Vietnam 255

Chapter 26 National Monument Public Plea 265

Chapter 27 National Monument Legislation 275

Chapter 28 Monument Design 291

Chapter 29 Monument Site Selection 301

Chapter 30 Monument Fundraising 308

Chapter 31 Dedication of National Monument and Public Access 328

Medal of Honor Robert W. Hartsock 354

U.S. War Dog Handlers Killed in Vietnam 357

U.S. War Dogs Killed or Died in Vietnam 375

About the Author 384

Editorial Reviews

05/19/2014
Burnam, a retired Army sergeant, shares in this memoir the saga of his two combat-heavy tours of duty serving in the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry and 24th Infantry Divisions in the Vietnam War, and his successful quest beginning in the early 1990s to erect a national monument to honor his fellow dog handlers and their dogs. Burnam's descriptions of Vietnam War combat are well drawn and evocative. Those accounts include his detailed renderings of what it was like to work with German Shepard scout dogs in the midst of combat at its deadliest. The heavily illustrated section on Burnam's efforts to build the moment is less compelling, thought it nevertheless serves as a tribute to the life-saving work done by untold numbers of military dogs and their handlers in every American conflict since WWII. As Burnham writes, when the U.S. Military Working Dog Teams National Monument was dedicated in 2013 at Lackland Air Force Base, he had "accomplished my mission by building a national monument to honor them all forever!" Photos. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Nineteen-year-old Burnam got shipped to Vietnam and became a handler of scout dogs, to whom he conceived a fierce, loving attachment. Burnam's account is an upward squint from the mud and blood of battle. A good dog helped a good man survive the horror, only—as with other US military dogs—to be abandoned when the United States pulled out, a disposable warrior. Such a story merits telling.

The Dallas Morning News

This riveting firsthand documentary captures the heart and soul of German shepherds and Labrador retrievers, from scout, tracker, patrol, and sentry teams to mine, booby trap, and tunnel units. Expect to shed a few tears in this gut-wrenching account.

Seattle Times