My passion for a national monument to honor our nation’s war dogs and handlers derived from having served with German Shepherd Scout Dogs (Timber & Clipper) and a Sentry Dog (Hans) during the Vietnam War (1966-1968). It was back then when I first realized how invaluable a dog was, saving lives in so many different ways that was far superior to any human on the battlefield.

My two brothers served in Vietnam at the same time I did. One was a Helicopter Door Gunner who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism. He was so badly shot up saving lives that he remains crippled today and on full military disability. My other brother was a life saver in his own right because he ran an “APO Mail Room” in Vietnam making sure we got our letters and packages. Boy, does he have some stories to tell about what the troops tried to mail home!

My oldest brother was an Artilleryman during “The Battle of Chosin Reservoir” in the Korean War. There were 30,000 United Nations troops (nicknamed the "Frozen Chosin" or "The Chosin Few") under the command of General Douglas MacArthur that faced approximately 120,000 Chinese troops. My brother is a man of few words about that battle.

As I studied the history of America’s use of dogs in War, I learned how they had been saving lives on the battlefields dating back to World War One. And they continue to save lives today in the war on terror.

My interest to see them honored continued to grow when asked to participate in a handful of War Dog TV documentaries, including publishing my manuscript “Dog Tags of Courage” that had been scratched out on paper fifteen years earlier. My most recent documentary is “Animals Aloft” produced by the Smithsonian Institution and due to air on TV this summer - 2008. Pictures below are the Washington D.C. area interview locations (my office and the Air & Space Museum).

When I founded the National War Dogs Monument project in 2001, my brothers and the thousands of veterans and dog loving people I met, giving speeches and raising money across the country, encouraged me to never to give up.

I’m privileged to have worked directly with U.S. Congressman Walter B. Jones of North Carolina (pictured) and his terrific staff on the national monument’s congressional legislative process the past five years.

I was also honored to have been formally invited by several U.S. Congressional Subcommittees to give oral and written testimony as to why Congress should pass legislation for a national monument.

The legislation breezed through the U. S. House and Senate, and President George W. Bush signed it into Law on January 28, 2008.

I will now devote the next several years of my life to help raise the funds necessary to build this historic monument honoring our nation’s heroic war dogs and handlers