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To: BGHater
Here's a story somewhat related to Arlington:

Back in the 1970s (1976 IIRC) , there was a move to honor the war dogs with a monument . This was right after if not during the very end of the Vietnam war, sentiment for honoring even canine war heroes was low, some objected to equating canine and human soldiers (as they saw it). The issue was acrimonious .

Then a congressman stood up(no, I don't recall if he was house or senate, or his name/state) . He said he was a veteran of the "island hopping" during WW II. He described the hardships suffered in the campaigns, and he stated that the only time he and the other men in his squad could get any decent sleep was when they had a canine and handler team with them. Then, they could sleep and recuperate.

This congressman suggested putting the memorial at the entrance gate to Arlington. Let the dog stand watch over the soldiers sleeping eternally, he said.

Sadly, his suggestion did not pass. But the war dogs were honored with a memorial anyway-several in fact, giant bronze statues of an alert doberman , with the names of some of the canine soldiers KIA engraved on the base. (One was set up in Guam, another at a Tennessee veterinary university, think there was one or two more but the only one I can say for sure is the one in Guam. I saw a picture of the statue online recently, which brought to mind the story of the congressman and his suggestion. It was a beautiful image , of a living soldier and his K9 looking at the statue of the doberman and the list of names.)

So the war dogs got their memorial...But I can't help thinking the congressman had the right idea, of where it should have been placed. The symbolism-the alert dog guarding the fallen heroes-would have been perfect.

18 posted on 11/17/2009 1:58:33 PM PST by kaylar
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To: kaylar

Could it be at the Tennessee Veterans’ Cemetery in Knoxville?


19 posted on 11/17/2009 5:20:33 PM PST by scrabblehack
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