The Paper • Page 2 • February 27, 2020
Heroic Dogs Cont. from Page 1
that were saved in Vietnam: K9 units saved an estimated 10,000 American servicemen who were able to come back home, alive – instead of in a body bag -- to rejoin their families, friends, loved ones, and raise their children. Vietnam veteran, Cpl John Kubisz, says with great emotion, “Somebody out there may have a father or brother right now who owes his life to one of these dogs. I just want everybody to know these animals actually existed and served their country.”
The amazing thing about these canine warriors is that they care little for themselves. Their first-priority of love and loyalty for their human counterpart is simply towering. Even when they, instinctively, sense that they are about to die they will, still, lovingly lay down their own lives to protect others. SPC Greg Blackwell, who served as a veterinarian for the U. S. Army in Vietnam says, “There would be a whole lot more than 50,000 names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall (in Washington, D. C.) without these dogs. And I don’t think the average American knows the role these dogs played.” Blackwell knows well of what he says. His veterinarian duties placed him up-close-and-personal with
Give Us This Day Our Daily Chuckle
This week, a compendium of wit, wisdom and neat stuff you can tell at parties. Enjoy! I just donated a puppet to a children's charity with no strings attached. •••• ATTENTION: Aliens are coming to abduct all the good looking and sexy people. You are safe.
I just stopped by to say goodbye. •••• A nun walks into Mother Superior's office and plunks down into a chair. She lets out a sigh heavy with frustration.
'What troubles you, Sister?' asked the Mother Superior .. 'I thought this was the day you spent with your family.' 'It was,' sighed the Sister. 'And I went to play golf with my
these heroic Vietnam service dogs. The fact that they are hugely unrecognized saddens him: “There is no memorial to honor the war dogs of Vietnam (until recent years) . . . only memories of the men whose lives they saved. Memories of courage, companionship, and love and loyalty so deep . . . that it is hard for us to fathom.” But Vietnam was a very different war. At the end of World War II, the war dogs that served America so valiantly had a much better future. Like other soldiers, the dogs were shipped back home and given Honorable Discharges. They made loyal, loving pets for families across America.
After the Vietnam conflict, the dogs that had saved so many precious human lives were now forgotten. Out of nearly 5,000 dogs, only about 200 survived. Out of that number, many were euthanized, despite the pleas of their handlers. CPL John Flannelly, a 20-year-old from Massachusetts always had dogs when he was growing up. But he was not prepared for the harsh conditions of Southeast Asia, nor what was about to happen to him.
When he first stepped off his plane in Saigon, the intense humidity and heat that greeted him was like someone placing a pillow over his face, making breathing, at times, a chore. His U.S. Marine Corps fatigues didn’t make things cooler, by any stretch. Flannelly was soon
brother. We try to play golf as often as we can. You know I was quite a talented golfer before I devoted my life to Christ.' 'I seem to recall that,' the Mother Superior agreed. 'So I take it your day of recreation was not relaxing?' 'Far from it,' snorted the Sister. 'In fact, I even took the Lord's name in vain today!' 'Goodness, Sister!' gasped the Mother Superior, astonished. 'You must tell me all about it!'
'Well, we were on the fifth tee ... and this hole is a monster, Mother Superior - 540 yard Par 5, with a nasty dog leg left and a hidden green .... and I hit the drive of my life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made. And it's flying straight and true, right along the line I wanted .. .and it hits a bird in mid-flight !' 'Oh my!' commiserated the Mother. 'How unfortunate! But surely that didn't make you blaspheme, Sister!'
'No, that wasn't it,' admitted Sister. 'While I was still trying to fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the
assigned to the United States Marine Corps Scout Dog Platoon. His partnered-dog was a German Shepherd named “Bruiser.” Little did Flannelly know that his entire life would totally change. He says, with his thick Boston accent: “They had told me that this was gonna be my new best friend and that I probably would get closer to him than any human being I had ever known in my entire life. And they were right.” Flannelly and Bruiser went through a highly-intense training program and their combined working skills – and instincts – would become one. They worked together in perfect synch. Their bonding and interaction was so finely-tuned as to be reduced to quick automatic reaction, as opposed to second-hand thinking. “I was closer to that dog than most people are with their wives and children. I mean, we were inseparable.”
But, it wasn’t all emotion, loyalty, and dedication. It was indescribable, melded skills. Bruiser was a “scout” dog. He had graduated with high honors, even impressing his hard-nosed Marine dog trainers. Flannelly and Bruiser had trained together to communicate with rudimentary body language that the average person cannot see, much less, interpret. Bruiser had an arsenal of body language which Flannelly keenly watched in order to keep his entire platoon safe while out in the jungles and bush country. Bruiser’s sense of smell was 1,000
woods, grabs my ball and runs off down the fairway!'
'Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!' sympathized the Mother.
times more sensitive than humans. With wind conditions, he could sniff-out enemies in the bush up to 1,000 yards away (that’s the equivalent of 10 football fields end-toend). That 1,000-yard smell which Bruiser possessed is far enough to keep an enemy from firing their weapons. This can keep an entire U. S. Marine platoon from being completely wiped out from enemy ambush. But Bruiser had other lifesaving talents. He was able to not only smell human scent at a great distance, but he was also able to detect “trip wires” that could set off booby-traps that were rigged to trigger large deadly explosions by the enemy.
Amazingly, just the subtle sound of wind blowing over a trip wire could be detected by Bruiser’s keen sense of hearing, as well as smell. Dogs can detect a higher frequency of sound which humans cannot. His nose could even smell land mines and other booby traps or just ‘sense’ their presence, in the same phenomenal way that civilian Service Dogs can sense an impending seizure before it happens to their master. It is an uncanny ability in dogs which still baffles scientists today. Because of these working skills between Bruiser and his handler, Flannelly, both would have the world’s most dangerous job of “walking point,” which means they
Heroic Dogs Cont. on Page 3
explaining why I’m right! •••• You know you're getting old when ....
'Nope, that wasn't it either,' cried the Sister, anguished, 'because as the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel started struggling, and the hawk dropped him right there on the green, and the ball popped out of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!'
Your hair stylist starts talking about 50 Shades of Gray, and she is referring to your hair color. •••• Today's Soup is . . . beer. •••• No Senior Discounts. You've had twice as long to get the money! •••• No, we do not have Wi-Fi. Talk to each other! •••• Global Facts About Sex At any given moment: FACT: 79,000,000 people are having sex - right now. FACT: 58,000,000 are kissing. FACT: 37,000,000 are relaxing after having sex. FACT: 1 old person is reading Chuckles. . You hang in there, sunshine! •••• Irish blonde...
'You missed the friggin’ putt, didn't you?!’ •••• I’m not arguing! I”m simply
Chuckles Cont. on Page 5
'But I didn't, Mother!' sobbed the Sister. 'And I was so proud of myself! And while I was pondering whether this was a sign from God, this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel and flies off, with my ball still clutched in his paws!' 'So that's when you cursed,' said the Mother with a knowing smile.
Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest, fixed the Sister with a baleful stare and said...
An attractive blonde from Cork, Ireland, arrived at the casino. She seemed a little intoxicated and bet twenty thousand dollars in a single roll of the dice.