Scout Dog

In early March during the dry season, a team from the 1st Cav's 34th Infantry Platoon Scout Dog (IPSD) Platoon, based in Bien Hoa, was attached to our company. (The dog, Duke, was spoiled. If he got thirsty in the middle of the night, he would nibble on his handler's ear to beg for a drink.) In due course, we were informed that our normal log day would be delayed. Accordingly, a patrol was sent out with a bunch of canteens to look for a source to supplement our dwindling water supply. We were working in mountainous terrain so there wasn’t a good chance of success, but we figured maybe Duke could smell water. Finally, a small trickle was spotted. We followed it downhill to a little clear pool. There was a frog in the water which indicated to us that the water was OK. Just as we were about to start filling canteens, the dog jumped in and stirred up all sorts of detritus and mud. A great help he turned out to be.

And before Jim Garvin starts in with "What was the handler's name?" I looked on the 34th IPSD website hoping to pair a soldier with a dog named Duke. Turns out there were dozens of "Dukes" and you would have to know their ear tattoo number to have a prayer of getting more information.