Remembering the tracker dogs during the Vietnam War
Here is a blog posting from Elspeth Grant (2018 Teacher on the trip) - thanks Elspeth for this great information re: the role of dogs during the Vietnam War beyond what we normally consider when commemorating the war.
Elspeth writes:
Are you aware that animals have often fought by the Anzacs’ side? You have probably heard of the Light Horse and seen the remarkable sculpture of a horse at our Boer War Memorial in Adelaide. Others are less well known, like the Imperial Camel Corps of WWI and gallantry award winning carrier pigeons of WWII.
On the trip consider the stories of the tracker dogs who served in Vietnam. Check out this news video on the Virtual War Memorial as background; it features South Australian Vietnam Veteran, Peter Haran:
I would like to visit Caesar’s statue over in NSW one day. In SA you can pay your respects at this memorial to Australian Army Trackers at Goolwa:
If you are a dog lover and are looking for a book to take or read before you go, I can recommend Peter’s book Trackers (2000). There is also a children’s book called Caesar by Stephen Dando-Collins (2012) for a quick read.
The ADF still uses dogs in conflicts today:
Explosive Detection Dog Sarbi was one of the best known – she won the RSPCA’s Purple Cross for bravery for her work in Afghanistan.
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