Photo Above; Blackie with his water bucket, Courtesy of Greg Dunlap.
Well, your E-mail made me feel better. They did not have someone outside with an M-16 for me. The last time I saw Blackie he was assigned to Clarence Dedecker III. Dedecker had the right size and disposition for Blackie. In December 1969 or Jan 1970 the section was cut in size from 40 dog teams to 7. I was home (for extending) and came back to an almost empty K-9 hut. Nine other handlers & myself were shipped to Phu Cat AB. Our dogs went to other bases. And yes, the last time I saw Blackie, he had a helmet in his mouth.
Glad to hear from another of Blackie's handlers. I knew I had a good partner when I got him at Lackland The dog that I had developed heart worms, so they would not let me take him to Nam. His name was Fury 166E and lived up to his name. He got me 42 times in training, not bad, but that's only because I had experience. I started out in K-9 in 1956 at Landsthul, Germany. Anyway, they told me at Lackland that I could have any dog there, just pick one. I told them that I wanted one that only has obedience training and that I would train him in attack when I got to Nam. He turned out to be a good dog and companion. I had my own way of training him. I only had him 120 days; we were in country TDY (Temporary Duty) for "Top Dog". A message came down to leave the dogs there and send the handlers back. I told Col. Philips that I wanted to stay because I could read between the lines. Only three bases received dogs back then. They were Da Nang AB, Tan Son Nhut AB, and Bien Hoa. After the original handlers left, I was left with 13 dogs, and no handlers. Colonel Phillips told me that I would be the new Kennelmaster, pick the handlers, and that I had three days to put them on post. That is how Don got Blackie. I will tell you the rest later.
I talked with Dedecker last night. Dedecker and I compared memories of the Da Nang dog section. Blackie was the only unassigned dog in the section when he arrived in country. Dedecker was told to either get in on him or go to security. Blackie never “chilled out with age” and remained difficult to get in on. Blackie tried to bite him several times but never connected. Dedecker extended his tour at Tan Son Nhut AB for an additional six months after being reassigned there. That would have put him leaving Tan Son Nhut AB in late 1970 or early 1971. He was told that Blackie was put to sleep after he left. That would agree with what Don was told by VDHA. Now we only have to find George Hoagland (Blackie’s Handler 1966-1967). And Greg, Dedecker also has fond memories of Blackie carrying his helmet also.
Photo Below: Greg Dunlap & Blackie (Greg did the Snoopy artwork at the kennels).
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