K-9
War Memorials
Page
2 of 2
F.A.S.T.
Co.
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In Loving Memory
of
K-9
"RUDY"
May
21, 1990
Partner, Mario
Warnaar
Holland 
Soesterberg
AFB, 298 Squadron
334
squadron
of the
Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF),
32 TFS
"Wolfhounds"
of the
United States Air Force (USAF)
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Rudy,
a Belgian Malinois, was my second buddy we worked together for the rest
of my air force career. We have obtained several air force and police certificates
and diplomas. Rudy was one of the best dogs the Soesterberg AFB kennel
had and so became that in 1985 we took part of the preliminary rounds of
the Air Force K-9 dog championship, but weren't lucky/good enough for the
final contest. One of my Soesterberg colleagues became that year champion;
it was the fourth time of his career. At this moment the Air Force K-9
championship is held every year at Soesterberg AFB. Every year the SP organized
near the baseball field the "Police Day", at this day the security police
and several Dutch law enforcement agencies, like the Customs, local Police
and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, gave demonstrations. We as
K-9 section were also given demonstrations, and after the official day
we all had a big barbecue. In times of war, as part of the Ground Operating
Squadron, the dog handlers operate as explosive specialists/advisers, in
concerted action with NBC (Nuclear, Biologic and Chemical) specialists.
Mario
is now in the banking business in Holland.
He still
misses Rudy.
"Thank
you Mario, this site was accomplished
with all
of your continued help and support.
YOU are the
person that made me aware
of the heroic
War Dogs.
...
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In Loving Memory
of
K-9
JEEP
Killen
and Jeep with Ernie Pyle
Handler:
Howard Killen
Howard
Killen would be delighted to hear from others...
He can
be reached at:
668
Lingerlost Rd., Killen, Alabama 35645.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Hahn-50thAP-K9/K9History4
Memories
of his wartime dog put man on the move
By Joseph
D. Bryant Staff Writer June 3, 2002
KILLEN
- At the edge of a winding two-lane road, a small grave lies under trees
providing shade against rising summer heat. Howard Killen thought it was
a fitting place for his old war comrade. "Old Jeep was a good dog," Killen
said. "Probably saved my life a time or two," Killen was in the U.S. Marines
3rd Division during World War II and served as a scout dog handler in the
Infantry. "Since I was a country boy and grew up with dogs, I had
a good chance to be accepted," he said. Before going to the Pacific, Killen
served as a dog trainer at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where the dogs underwent
extensive training to transform household pets into animals able to survive
combat. As a Private First Class, Jeep outranked his handler who was a
buck Private. When the war ended, Killen got permission to bring the Doberman
home to Florence after the dog was decommissioned and retrained to be a
pet. Killen later moved to Tennessee and left his dog with a relative in
Florence. Jeep died on Memorial Day 1954 and was buried in his owner's
back yard on Royal Avenue, Killen returned in 1972. It's been 48 years
since his death, but he has never forgotten about Jeep. In recent weeks,
those memories have intensified and created a desire to reconnect to the
past. It started after a friend showed him old pictures during his time
in the Pacific. They showed the famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle with
Jeep and Killen. Only Killen's fingers are shown in the blurry picture,
but he remembered the moment. "It just brought back memories to me," Killen
said. "I guess I go tenderhearted about
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it." Last week, Killen's nostalgia reached a peak. The new residents
at the old Royal Avenue house were surprised with a visit from the veteran.
Killen wanted to dig up the old dog and bury it near his home. He showed
them the 1954 Florence Times newspaper article telling Jeep's story as
proof. They agreed. "I came back the next day with my pick and shovel and
dug him up," Killen said. After five decades, everyone except Killen had
forgotten the unmarked backyard grave. He remembered the exact spot - between
the house and a tree. Now, Jeep has a new burial place. This time with
a marker and nice cool shady spot just right for Jeep's resting place.
Dogs have been used in American military combat since the First World War
and are credited with saving thousands of human lives. The dogs were used
as messengers, mine detectors, scouts and guard dogs. At night, they stood
guard for surprise attacks. And in the daytime, it was the dogs that often
first sensed the enemy's presence. "You could tell by his reactions that
someone was there," Killen said. There are several memorials honoring the
soldiers and their K-9 helpers including the Doberman War Dog Memorial
in Guam, where the dogs were used extensively. "We put the dogs out in
front of the troops," said William Putney author of "Always Faithful,"
a book chronicling the use of War Dogs in the Marines. "Having the dogs
increased the distance between the troops and the people in the jungle."
Putney was a veterinarian who was assigned to the Marine Corps' War Dog
Training School in 1943, after his graduation from Auburn University. He
was the commanding officer of the 3rd War Dog Platoon, in the Marine's
3rd division in the Pacific. "The dogs caught them before they could get
to us," said Putney, who is retired and living California. "The dog would
alert us to the ambushes." In 1994, Putney established the War Dog Cemetery
on the U.S. Navel Base on Guam. Killen's earlier dog is buried there. A
sniper got him just a foot or two from his owner's head. After the war,
Jeep made a good transition to peacetime and made a gentle pet for Killen's
family. The three-foot Doberman has remained somewhere in Killen's
mind for years since the war's end. Killen just completed the second volume
of his book, "Possum Creek Tales." In it, he documents life
in Possum Creek, a community between Killen and Lexington, where the biggest
industry was a molasses mill and its biggest employee was the horse that
turned the grinder. In the latest book "The Possum Creek Flash," the author
describes life away from Possum Creek after joining the Marines and being
sent to fight for survival in the jungles of the Pacific. There's a picture
of Jeep in the book. Jeep's memory will be passed on to all who read the
story of Killen's life. After facing the horrors of war and returning home
for a normal life, together Jeep's story and Killen's life are inseparable.
Joseph
D. Bryant can be reached at 740-5745
Ms.
Krause:
Thanks
for your email. I remain stunned how far may article on Jeep and his
trainer
Mr. Howard Killen has gone. It was a pleasant surprise. Yes, you
may
use the info on Jeep from the story. The only thing that my editors ask
is that
if you use the article, please cite the paper - The Times Daily of
Florence
Alabama. Other than that, have at it. The picture of Jeep and
Ernie
Pyle is on the net, so that's fair game too. If you need any more
info.
on that story, you may call Howard Killen at 256-757-1616. He'd love
to talk
to about Jeep. Again thanks for reading and being courteous enough
to email. Let me know when your book comes out, I'd love to purchase a
copy.
Joseph
D. Bryant, reporter Times Daily- Florence, AL
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