Life is Tough but it's Tougher when you're Stupid

[mikewint]

Damn.............that's heartbreaking.

The US treated its Vietnam War Dogs worse than it treated its Vietnam human veterans:
Approximately 4,900 dogs were used in Vietnam from 1964 - 1975. The "approximately" is because that military did not even bother to keep records of the dogs until 1968. The dogs were used in various roles, sentry, booby-trap, combat tracker, mine detection, tunnel dogs, etc. 232 were KIA along with 295 handlers during the course of the war. It is estimated that the dogs saved the lives of over 10,000 US soldiers. As the war ended the dogs were classified as "Excess equipment" by the Army. Initially the Army began a program of quarantining the dogs for 4 weeks before sending them out of Vietnam but after 204 dogs passed through the program it was deemed "too costly" and discontinued. The remaining dogs were euthanized. 300 were turned over to ARVN forces though the Vietnamese had little use for dogs except as food. There were no Veterinarians in the country and the dogs were seldom fed as it was "too costly" to maintain them. Most died of starvation.
In the last days of the war any remaining dogs were simply abandoned to be hunted down by the NVA, VC, or civilian villagers looking for a meal.

 

[mikewint]

You learn the hazards, and the do's and don'ts, or you don't last long.

It only takes ONE whoopsie triggered by complacency...

 

[at6]

The US treated its Vietnam War Dogs worse than it treated its Vietnam human veterans:
Approximately 4,900 dogs were used in Vietnam from 1964 - 1975. The "approximately" is because that military did not even bother to keep records of the dogs until 1968. The dogs were used in various roles, sentry, booby-trap, combat tracker, mine detection, tunnel dogs, etc. 232 were KIA along with 295 handlers during the course of the war. It is estimated that the dogs saved the lives of over 10,000 US soldiers. As the war ended the dogs were classified as "Excess equipment" by the Army. Initially the Army began a program of quarantining the dogs for 4 weeks before sending them out of Vietnam but after 204 dogs passed through the program it was deemed "too costly" and discontinued. The remaining dogs were euthanized. 300 were turned over to ARVN forces though the Vietnamese had little use for dogs except as food. There were no Veterinarians in the country and the dogs were seldom fed as it was "too costly" to maintain them. Most died of starvation.
In the last days of the war any remaining dogs were simply abandoned to be hunted down by the NVA, VC, or civilian villagers looking for a meal.

Perhaps the decision makers should been euthanized and fed to their families. Sorry Mike, but my love for dogs out weighs my feeling for humans.

 

[mikewint]

I could understand the 'not just returning' these dogs to the US directly. The parasites/diseases in Vietnam were totally different than in the US, hence the quarantine. BUT these dogs had been highly trained and had saved countless lives, more than once at the cost of their own life. They were soldiers as much as any human soldier. We owed them and paid them back with a needle/maltreatment/death.
Then again many human Vets received the same treatment ": Excess Equipment"

 

[at6]

I may not have been able to serve in the military, but I treated each returning veteran with the respect and honor that they should have been given when they came home.

 

[swampyankee]

I could understand the 'not just returning' these dogs to the US directly. The parasites/diseases in Vietnam were totally different than in the US, hence the quarantine. BUT these dogs had been highly trained and had saved countless lives, more than once at the cost of their own life. They were soldiers as much as any human soldier. We owed them and paid them back with a needle/maltreatment/death.
Then again many human Vets received the same treatment ": Excess Equipment"

A lot of veterans are still treated quite shabbily by the federal government. Just witness the problems within the VA and the official antipathy to recognizing problems due to toxic agents, from Agent Orange and dioxins from Vietnam to burning waste and potential endoparasite infections from Iraq. Of course, a lot of veterans are treated quite badly within the services, as exemplified by the numerous cases of sexual assault that were suppressed.