MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE - His name was Ken. He was smart and assertive, and he was Mike McKelroy's best buddy in Vietnam.
When the last of McKelroy's three tours ended in 1969, he returned home and continued his career in the Marines, eventually retiring after 23 years as a master sergeant.
His canine partner was not as fortunate. Ken was euthanized, the fate of nearly all U.S. war dogs that served in Vietnam.
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When American forces left, the dogs became expendable and were disposed of like surplus rifles, tanks or helicopters. Military leaders did not think the dogs could adjust to civilian life. There was also some concern about exotic diseases.
"It bothers me to this day," McKelroy, 60, said from the March Field Air Museum, where he is helping organize the annual War Dog Remembrance on Sunday. "It was wrong. It was just the easy way to get rid of them."
Organizers expect Sunday's fifth-annual remembrance at the March Field Air Museum to draw about 400 people.
Handlers stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar will give a demonstration of 21st century war dogs in action, said David Flowers, museum marketing manager.
There will also be a roundtable discussion of air operations in Vietnam, and visitors can take a look at Vietnam-era planes on display, including the F-4 Phantom fighter, the B-52 bomber and C-141 Starlifter cargo plane.
Service in Three Centuries
The American military first used dogs in the Seminole War of 1835, employing bloodhounds to track Indians.
More than 100 years later, about 10,000 German shepherds, Belgian sheepdogs, Doberman pinschers, farm collies and giant schnauzers served during World War II, delivering messages, guarding airfields and ammunition dumps, seeking out snipers and sniffing for land mines.
A shepherd-collie-husky mix named Chips served in eight campaigns in the European theater and was credited with charging a machine-gun nest in Sicily, grabbing one enemy soldier by the throat and forcing all six to surrender. He was decorated with the Silver Star and Purple Heart, but these were later revoked after military brass determined that medals were for humans, not dogs.
About 4,000 dogs served in Vietnam, some guarding bases and encampments, and others patrolling jungles with small units on search-and-destroy missions. Battlefield reports indicate 281were killed in combat.
McKelroy said Vietnamese communists placed bounties of $1,500 on war dogs.
He considered Ken his other half.
"We were part of each other," McKelroy said. "You were married to that dog. You sleep, eat and sit in ambushes with that animal. The dog has to trust you."
On Patrol
McKelroy and Ken served together at such places as Phu Bai, Chu Lai, Danang and Hill 55.
He credits Ken with saving him and fellow Marines on several occasions. One time, Ken sensed movement coming out of a tree line and gave an alert -- his ears popping up, mouth closed, eyes locked in the direction of the motion. About 200 yards away, McKelroy spotted enemy soldiers setting up an ambush.
"We would have walked right in there," he said. "No doubt, they would have got me."
McKelroy said he and Ken shared a poncho in rainstorms. They also often shared food -- both liked lima beans and ham.
The March museum is home to a war dog memorial -- a 16-foot bronze and granite statue featuring a handler with a German shepherd.
Former Corona Mayor Jeff Bennett, founder of a dog food company, raised $1 million to help pay for the memorial.
Around the statue, rows of tiles serve as tributes to individual dogs.
"Thank you Buck, I owe you my life" is inscribed on one.
Another says, "If not for Dusty, I wouldn't be home."
"Forever my soulmate -- Cherokee Red" reads a third.
McKelroy didn't buy a tile for Ken. Even after 35 years, the memories of his demise are too painful.
