Among the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War were the war dogs, courageous canines who played a critical role in the conflict. Trained as sentries, scouts, and trackers, they had an exceptional ability to detect danger, providing vital support to their human handlers. Their efforts are credited with saving countless lives, lowering the American death toll by an estimated 10,000 casualties. Here are the inspiring stories of these valiant four-legged soldiers.
Not the first war dogs
The dogs that participated in the Vietnam War were part of a long-standing tradition of using canines in combat throughout history. However, it was during World War II that the United States began officially training dogs for military roles beyond simply delivering messages on the battlefield. From 1943 to 1945, the US Marine Corps trained dogs donated to the war effort for service in the Pacific Theater, accepting all breeds. Notably, the Doberman Pinscher became the official war dog of the Marines.
This initiative was regarded as successful, and when the Vietnam War started, the US military reestablished K9 units. Although records from before 1968 are somewhat murky, it is known that approximately 5,000 dogs were deployed from that year until the conflict’s conclusion, with around 10,000 servicemen serving as their handlers.
In contrast to the soldiers who completed their tours and returned home, these dogs stayed in Vietnam and were assigned to new handlers.
Use as tracking dogs in Vietnam
One breed of dog used in Vietnam was the Labrador Retriever, which served mainly in tracker roles. Their training meant they could alert their handlers to snipers, tripwires and weapons caches. Rick Claggett, a veteran of the war, explained that they were excellent at following blood trails. If troops were looking for an injured enemy or missing personnel, the Lab teams, made up of the dog, its handler, a cover man, the team leader and a visual tracker, were called.
Labs were picked specifically over other tracking dogs, like Beagles and Bloodhounds, because they were significantly quieter than these other breeds.
The Australians created their own K9 units made up of 11 shelter dogs adopted from Sydney. Named after Roman emperors, they were expected to serve in Vietnam for three years. Although it seems that they served with US troops to a degree, it was certainly German Shepherds that made up the bulk of the Aussies’ war dogs.
Sentry and scouting duties
In Vietnam, war dogs demonstrated remarkable versatility, taking on roles in sentry duty, scouting, mining, tunneling, and even tracking. Rick Claggett worked with Big Boy, one of these skilled canine scouts. He explained that their task was to lead the patrols through fields, with the dogs trained to detect booby traps and ambushes by scent. Serving as the lead in such missions was highly dangerous, carrying, as Claggett noted, the third-highest mortality rate in the war.
Sentry dogs patrolled the perimeters of U.S. outposts, acting as the frontline defense against enemy forces. German Shepherds were also used on water patrols, specially trained to detect enemy soldiers hidden beneath the water, waiting to attack amphibious craft. Due to their effectiveness, these highly-trained teams soon became prime targets of Viet Cong guerrillas, who placed a bounty on both the dogs and their handlers and even began attacking their kennels to achieve this goal more frequently.
Nemo A534
The bonds forged between these partners were truly remarkable. There are many stories of this, with perhaps none more famous than that of Nemo A534 and his handler, Capt. Robert Throneburg.
On December 4, 1966, while stationed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, the Viet Cong attacked. During their patrol, Nemo alerted Throneburg to a group hidden nearby. The pair attacked, killing two enemy fighters, but were soon injured themselves. Nemo was shot under his right eye, with the bullet exiting through his mouth, while Throneburg was shot through his left shoulder twice.
Despite being seriously injured, the dog crawled onto his handler’s body, where he waited until medics could arrive – he wouldn’t let anyone else near him. Throneburg received the Bronze Star with V and two Purple Hearts, while Nemo was retired and sent back to the United States, where he served as a recruiting dog until his death.
Man’s best friend
These dog/handler teams were invaluable to the war effort in Vietnam. They were credited with saving the lives of around 10,000 servicemen, thanks to their various roles in the conflict. James Mulligan handled scout dog Rickey, who “never walked our patrol into an ambush or any booby traps. He alerted on 45 ambushes, five in one day.”
While these actions were appreciated by the men that served alongside them, these dogs weren’t made a priority when the war came to an end. Of the roughly 5,000 that served, around 232 were killed in action (KIA) and another 200 were assigned to posts outside of the US. The remainder were either left in the hands of the Vietnamese or abandoned. At least 2,000 were simply euthanized.
The US government viewed them as “equipment” and didn’t want to fund their trips home. Having built such strong bonds, many soldiers wanted to bring their comrades back to the US with them, but were still told no, despite repeated appeals to Congress and the press.
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The service performed by these canines never went forgotten, and there are countless interviews with veteran handlers who still remember their partnerships fondly. In 2019, they were publicly remembered when the Vietnam War Dog Team Memorial was unveiled at Motts Military Museum, Inc. in Ohio.
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