I attribute my survival in Vietnam to the sharp ears, eyes, and especially, the nose of Alex 2B76. We worked together protecting Tan Son Nhut Air Base from enemy infiltrators and saboteurs near the capitol city of Saigon, Republic of South Vietnam.

My first memory of a military working dog was when I was eight years old. I’ve been completely enthralled with dogs ever since.

My father was career U.S. Air Force and we were stationed at Montauk Air Force Base, Montauk Long Island, New York. But no matter what military base my family moved to, I always found my way to the military working dog kennels.

I joined the Air Force after high school in the summer of 1971. I was the only Airman picked for K-9 school out of my entire graduating class. Why me? Well, it was only because the Sergeant in charge recognized my last name as that of my father. I’ve been grateful ever since.

The relationship I’ve developed with German shepherd dogs over the many years is too difficult to explain herein. You feel it when you bond with their intelligence, especially learning to communicate with their body language.

A Military Working Dog is the best companion in a combat environment. Learning to read a dog’s body language of danger while maintaining a bonding relationship, many times determines survival from injury or death.

I have a saying, “You can fool the handler, but you won’t fool the dog.”

I have since dedicated myself to helping secure their National Monument, which in itself will educate the public, not only to what the dogs have done in the past, but what they are doing today in the war on terror.

I’ve had first hand experience observing military bomb dog teams in Iraq. If not for them, some military compounds would be smoking embers.

How safe would our border highways, seaways, and airways be without the nose of the explosives detection dogs and their highly skilled handlers?

These service animals truly deserve our gratitude at the highest level of recognition so that future generations can benefit. And no matter how sophisticated the technology becomes, we should never replace these cognizant creatures with an inanimate machine.