This was the place in 1968 where the enemy came in and killed one of our dog handlers and his dog. The VC had a bounty on all dog handlers and if they killed one they had to get his patch and if he killed the dog he had to bring in his tattoo ear. In 68 they did both. So you can imagine, my feelings when I got up into the truck for 1st shift and headed for the ammo dump. Long Binh ammo dump was the largest ammo dumps in all of VN.

The 212th MP's had 13 dog posts, with 2 shifts, a total of 26 dogs a night walking their posts. Getting on the truck was also a task. You first had to pick up your dog and put him up on the truck , he of course was muzzled (a sentry dog in 69 was a full attack dog--- not a command dog). So if other dogs were already up in the truck you had a lot of growling and snarling going on where they wanted to attack each other and the other handlers. You had to control your dog, then you had to get up yourself (You were wearing your flack jacket, helmet, pistol belt, canteen, bandoleers of ammo, first aid packet, bayonet, and your gas mask, and your M-16 rifle----We never had any type of radio ). Once you were up in the truck you had to make your way between the guys sitting on the benches on both sides of you. That was tricky not to trip and fall down. I've seen guys lose their balance and fall and the dogs all lunge on them.

What a time we had on occasions. Once you get a seat, you had to put you dog's rear under the seat and cross your legs over him, so his head is between your legs. This was how we had to do this going out and coming back in. Well I finally got to my post and got off the truck. The truck then drives away to drop off the next team off on their post. Of course it's dusk and that's when you take the leather collar off your pistol belt and put it on your dog. This is their working collar and they know it. You then take off his muzzle and remove the choke chain collar, these you attach to your pistol belt. Now you are a functional sentry dog team at work, oh, yes you have a magazine in your rifle also.

So here I am in VN at night all alone with Donner. He was the veteran, I was the FNG (the last 2 words are NEW GUY). We started walking our post and after awhile he had a calming effect on me. In VN at night, it wasn't all that quiet. Choppers flying around, artillery rounds hitting off in the distance, watching the Cobra choppers using their minguns was like watching the movie WAR of the Worlds, a solid stream of red tracers coming out of the black night sky, then the sound finally coming to you and I always said it sounded like a large sewing machine going off.

Well, the night passed pretty uneventful. I did talk to a couple of tower guards, but, they were way up in there tower and you never saw them. Finally the time came to muzzle up Donner and wait for the truck to pick us up. The truck stopped and my relief jumped down and I put Donner up and handed my rifle up to one of the guys. I was getting up and I had just sat down when everybody started yelling to the driver to go. Well, we have the leash on our wrist it's called the safety leash, it will tighten on your wrist if you lose control so the dog can't get away from you. When the truck lurched off, Donner went flying off the truck and he almost carried me out of the truck. I was yelling for the truck to stop and the guys were all yelling and laughing and Donner was being straggled by the choke chain. The tailgate was down and he was banging on it. I was holding on as best as I could and finally in desperation I got my leg under him and in one motion I kicked up and pulled the leash as hard as I could. Donner came flying in to the bed off the truck. He scrambled to get under my seat.I think to this day he thought I threw him out of that truck. That scared me more than hurt him. When I kenneled him up for the night I kept petting him and telling him I didn't do it. That never happened again that is for sure.