Dogs have been used in war since ancient times, but only recently by the US. In WWII, the Army recruited dogs that were donated by families. It was in Vietnam that the war dogs played a significant role. In 1965, Project Top Dog sent 40 teams to South Vietnam. Over 4,000 were used in the Vietnam War. 232 were killed in action. They were assigned a variety of roles that they and their handlers were trained for. The jobs included scouting and tracking. Some did sentry duty on bases and others discovered enemy tunnels. There were even dogs that went on river patrols. They could warn of enemy soldiers using hollow reeds to hide under the water. Their keen senses of sight, smell, and hearing made them valuable. It is estimated that they saved around 10,000 lives. The most common dog used were German shepherds. Labrador retrievers were also used. The most dangerous missions were ones where the team led patrols. The dog would alert to mines, trip wires, and even ambushers. When the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese recognized their threat. The dogs could follow blood trails that led to wounded soldiers. A bounty was placed on the dogs. If you brought back their tattooed ear, you were given a bounty.
The most famous war dog from the Vietnam War was Nemo A534. He was a sentry dog on Tan Son Nhut air base. On the night of Dec. 4, 1966, he alerted his handler to several Viet Cong hiding on the base. Airman Robert Throneburg ordered Nemo to attack and he followed. Throneburg killed two of the VC, but Nemo was wounded as was Throneburg. Nemo crawled to cover Throneburg until medics arrived. The dog lost an eye and was retired to the US where he became a recruiting asset. He was an exception to the policy of not allowing the dogs to return to America. This was heartbreaking for their handlers, but the Pentagon felt it was too costly to send them back. There was also the fear of them introducing new diseases to America. Only 204 dogs were repatriated. The rest were either turned over to the ARVN or euthanized. In 2000, Robby’s Law was passed. It requires the return of war dogs and their placement in jobs like drug-sniffing. In 2109, the Vietnam War Dog Team Memorial was created in Groveport, Ohio.
I recommend the novel “Follow My Lead” by Richard Lamotte and the documentary “War Dogs of Vietnam” on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewwu4nVGu-8
https://www.vvmf.org/topics/Dogs-of-the-Vietnam-War/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/vietnam-war/war-dogs-vietnam.html
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