Warning, this is extra long because Sheila makes notes and
then adds them to blog events, sometimes I can post them before she gets to
them. I missed on this one
You will all be happy to know that I can’t gloat about
weather today. Forecast was for maybe
showers, a bit of wind & cooler temps.
We got no wind or rain but it was
a lot cooler. It was 52 F at 9:30 this
morning and now at 10:45 it is only 55 F. No WVB this morning, not only due to
temp but we are going to a “Meal & Movie” event to do with military dogs
and have to leave GVP about 11:30 to get there in time. Larry Shafer came with us. The meal was ready when we arrived. It was spaghetti with 2 sauce choices, meat
or a vegetarian sauce, plus salad, & garlic bread. The movie was on a VHS tape called “Dogs of
War” about the dogs who served in the Viet Nam War, their training &
handlers. It was really interesting and explained
things we never knew about. For
instance, dog handlers & their dogs are very important to combat troops
because they lead the troops through jungles as they seek to engage the enemy and
the dogs are able to detect enemy snipers, smell bombs and trip lines long
before the soldiers would and hence save many lives. Obviously, this is one of the most dangerous
jobs in the battalion and casualties amongst dogs and dog handlers were
high. In the Vietnam War, there were 500
dog casualties and 263 handler casualties.
The dogs, usually German
Shepherds can do this because their vision is many, many times superior to
human vision as is their hearing, and whereas humans average 4000 smell receptors
in their noses, German Shepherds have 40,000!
For example, at a BBQ a man or woman will just smell a hamburger, but a
dog smells Beef, bun, mustard, lettuce, tomato, BBQ sauce. Dogs can even smell a trip wire hidden in
tall grass and show their handler where it is. This became one of the most dangerous jobs in
the patrols because, when the Viet Cong realized how effective the dogs were at
alerting the American soldiers to danger, they began specifically targeting
them and offering extra rewards to anyone of their soldiers bringing them the
tattooed ear of a war dog and the tags of it’s handler--so casualties amongst
dogs and dog handlers were high. In the Viet Nam war,
there were 500 dog casualties and 263 handler casualties. The movie showed a bit of the training the
dog handler & dogs must have before they go into combat. It said it’s very important the personalities
of the dog and dog handler match and they are encouraged to spend lots of time
together before they go into combat so that they really bond. That’s why some dogs have risked their lives
and often died attempting to drag their wounded handler to safety while under
enemy fire. Also, the movie told of some
dogs lying on top of their handler to protect him or her from enemy bullets. After the movie, we learned even more
interesting facts from John Kamp, a speaker who was an ex dog handler. He said that without the dogs they would have
added 10,000 to 20,000 more names to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC,
(58,000 KIA). He also talked about how
the Air Force used German Shepherds as sentry dogs not only because of their
high intelligence and enhanced senses, but because when they were trained to be
aggressive to anyone but their handler, they were a very effective deterrent against
saboteurs etc. because when they bite they can apply up to 750 lbs of pressure,
i.e. easily breaking bones or causing death!
It was a long program, noon to after 5 PM, so when we got
out, it was too late to have the BBQ at Larry’s we’d planned so we went to J
& M restaurant, (one of our favourites), for supper. Both Sheila & I both had the ribs which
came with a fries, veggies & a salad & dessert plus coffee & tea
for $24.16 incl. tax for both of us.
Then, it was home to the TV for the evening.
