News-Info-Alerts

Re: All Kinds of Heroes

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Date: September 10, 2002

"Statue to honor war dogs
MEMORIAL Robert Stotts to sculpt soldier and German shepherd.

By Rose Cox Anchorage Daily News

The Veterans' Wall of Honor Committee plans a memorial to publicly recognize canine war heroes.

The committee of veterans and other patriotic citizens hired local artist Robert Stotts to sculpt the statue of a soldier and a German shepherd to be cast in bronze. The memorial will honor the 4,000 dogs that served as sentries and scouts during the Vietnam War.

Leo Kaye was spurred to promote a memorial to war dogs in 1999 after meeting John Morrissey, a Vietnam veteran visiting Alaska from Patterson, N.Y. Morrissey, who served with the Marines, told Kaye about a German shepherd named Wonton who saved his life three times during the war.

Morrissey went on to climb an unnamed mountain in the Chugach Mountains near Eklutna Lake and planted an American flag Kaye gave him at its top.

The Alaska Historical Commission named the 4,235-foot peak Mount POW/MIA to honor the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have been prisoners of war or remain listed as missing in action. The peak is visible from Bicentennial Park, Mile 35.5 Parks Highway, which is home to a collection of monuments established by the Veterans' Wall of Honor Committee.

The war dog memorial will join the veterans monument dedicated in 1991; the Veterans' Wall of Honor, a series of black granite panels that bear the names of veterans nationwide, dedicated in 1992; a marble plaque dedicated to the Military Order of the Purple Heart; and a concrete American flag.

An estimated 18,000 dogs were employed during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, according to the committee. There are two monuments to war dogs in the United States, one in Washington, D.C., and one in California, said Kaye, the committee chairman.

"But there's nothing like this, with a soldier and dog on a pedestal. I'm sure it will gain national recognition."

The committee selected a German shepherd, one of several breeds trained by the military, to represent all dogs employed during the Vietnam War.

The 6-foot-tall sculpture will cost $30,000. The Mat-Su Borough Assembly awarded a $5,000 grant to the War Dog Memorial Fund, and another $2,500 was donated by the University of Alaska and veterans organizations. The committee needs to raise another $22,000 for the sculpture, to be installed in May 2003.

Reporter Rose Cox can be reached at rcox@adn.com.

(WAR DOG MEMORIAL: A fund-raiser hosted by the American Legion Post 35 for the war dog memorial includes a wild-game dinner, auction and live entertainment, 5 p.m. Sept. 28 at the post, Mile 461/2 Parks Highway. To donate wild game or auction items or purchase tickets, call the post at 1-907-376-3500. To support the building and dedication of the memorial, mail checks to: The War Dog Memorial Fund, care of Leo C. Kaye, HC 30 Box 12934, Wasilla 99654-9711. Call 1-907-376-8810 for more information.)

© 2002 The Anchorage Daily News"