Bert Hubble's THE BOW-WOW REPORT June 2001 promoting Friendship - Communication - Understanding Distributed Quarterly: March - June - September - December To Former Platoon Members of the 47th & 59th Infantry Platoons (Scout Dog)

	47th Scout Dog Platoon http://www.47ipsd.us	59th Scout Dog Platoon http://www.geocities.com/ipsd59th/main.htm
VDHA Unit Director:	Bertram Hubble, bhubble@attglobal.net	Bertram Hubble, bhubble@attglobal.net
Webmaster:	Jonathan Wahl, 47ipsd@47ipsd.org	Dean P. Harrison, harr197@attglobal.net
Historian:	Bertram Hubble, bhubble@attglobal.net	William Whitehouse, w.w.whitehouse@worldnet.att.n
Membership Director:	Bertram Hubble, bhubble@attglobal.net	Bertram Hubble, bhubble@attglobal.net

Fellow Platoon Members:

Our primary goal for the next year is to make plans for the coming Columbus/Fort Benning Reunion:

"Full Circle" May 1968 - May 2002:

To facilitate our planning, former platoon members of both units are encouraged to make an early commitment to attend the Columbus/Fort Benning Reunion. The details are provided in the attachment to this report entitled "Call to Formation".

View the Reunion Page on the 47th Platoon Web Site at http://www.47ipsd.us where you will find a list of those platoon members who have already made a commitment to attend - over 56 people to date with almost a year to go. An itinerary will follow in a future mailing but for now it is important to make the commitment, to say to yourself - I am going to do it, if only once, I am going to meet my old buddies and take part.

Although the official dates are Friday May 10th - Sunday May 12th 2002, we would encourage at least one day early arrival to unwind as the first day will be a travel day. Activities will be planned for Friday PM. Do not forget to call the Columbus Hilton Tel: 706-324-1800 place your reservation making reference to the Scout Dog Reunion. When you can, send me your check for $24.00 per person for the dinner banquet and $12.00 per person for bus transportation to and from Fort Benning.

Living Military Displays:

We have come into contact with a Mr. Tom Masch who has a hobby of exhibiting live military displays at air shows, memorials, and other events where people gather. The exhibits are organized by Brian Benedict's "The Duffle Bag and Associates", a group of living historians who all volunteer their time and costs to putting on these displays. Tom has chosen the 47th IPSD as a subject platoon for one of his exhibits from the Vietnam Era. The Exhibits are meant to be as real as possible and include real "period" equipment and uniforms. The scout dog for the exhibit will be Tom's own dog named Cheyenne. She is a beautiful dobberman/shephered mix, about 7 years old, who will be the star of the exhibit. The 47th IPSD exhibit will be displayed on Saturday, May 26th and Sunday May 27th at the FDR Home in Hyde Park NY, then again on Sunday June 3rd, at the Rolling Thunder Air Show at Stewart International Airport, Newburgh, NY 12550 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. It is an honor that Tom has chosen the 47th Scout Dog Platoon as his subject and our thanks and appreciation are extended to him for his interesting and valuable hobby.

Recent Contributors:

We have had a great deal of input and feed back being contributed my many in recent weeks. Special thanks to Joe White, Ronald Cooper, Frank Steinhebel, Curt Knapp, Steve Bowers, Ed Reeves, and Gary Mengel. Joe White shared two video tapes, a platoon logo made by Robert Kollar (of the 58th IPSD), correspondence and pictures, Ronald Cooper visited me and brought pictures and talked to me about the platoon during his time in the unit. More pictures and recollections came from Frank Steinheble, Steve Bowers and Ed Reeves. Curt Knapp located us and informed us that he was the helicopter pilot who medivac'd Marvin Pearce out of the field when he was hit that fateful day. His recollections have been added to the 47th Platoon Diary dated 8/25/68. We have also been touch with DVM Delvin Randolph and Barbara Otto. Delvin was in charge of the Veterinary Detachment at Phu Bai in 1968 & 1969. Howard Hayes has been very helpful in searching his data base for me and helping me fill in the missing information on our dogs. Note that the 47th On-line Dog Roster now has a Legend at the bottom and updated disposition comments. New 47th diary entries have been added for Ronnie McCrary & Sarge X052, William Huskie & Little Joe 223M, Charles Franks & Little Joe 223M again, Ed Reeves & Prince 986A, and James Kuezek & Fat Albert 7K10. We have also been in touch with General John Hoefling, Retired who was the 101st Second Brigade Commanding Officer at LZ Sally 1968-1968, Peter Engelhardt, General Hoefling's Administrative Officer, and DVM Delvin Randolf, head of the 175th Veterinary Detachment, Phu Bai.

VDHA Membership:

I have been having difficulty keeping up with the new VDHA members as they are not always posted in the DogMan and it appears that the VDHA member list is not being updated. Steve Bowers of the 47th IPSD has informed us that he has joined and I understand that Delvin Randolf is also becoming a VDHA Member. Other possible new members may be Donald Loew and Dennis Herman from the 47th IPSD and Andrew Fussner and Brian Harvic from 59th IPSD but I have not been able to verify this for certain. Congratulations to all new VDHA Members.

Take care of yourselves,

Bert

 

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Author:	Bertram M. Hubble
Editor/Publisher:	Jonathan D. Wahl
© 2001 Bertram M. Hubble

"Full Circle" 47th and 59th Scout Dog Platoons Call to Formation

It started at Fort Benning over 30 years ago and we all remember what happened shortly thereafter.

The Unforgettable that many of us tried so hard to forget.

The hard times, the fear, the heat, the sweat, the loneliness.

The absurd, the senseless, the tragic.

Our lost youth, our lost brothers, being outcasts in our own country.

But there were also things Worth Remembering.

Our brothers-in-arms, our canine companions, our shared experiences.

Our hope, our laughter, our sense of accomplishment, the saving of lives.

The music, the letters to/from home, the travel to exotic locales, the countdown to the World, the faces of loved ones.

It's Time. Time to gather "where it all began" at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. Time for our units to come home on our terms. Time to say hello to long lost faces and to put it to bed once and for all.

The 47th and 59th Scout Dog Platoons are lining up from May 10-12, 2002 at the Columbus Hilton. The Reunion will be an event you will not want to miss. We'll all get together: former Platoon members, families, significant others, and special guests. We'll review photos, documents, and momentos from our time in Vietnam. We'll tour Fort Benning including the National Infantry Museum, the War Dog Memorial at Sacrifice Field, and our former training areas. We'll sit down to dinner and hear from some great guest speakers. We'll do it right.

If you've never attended previous get togethers such as the Vietnam Dog Handler Association bi-annual meetings - that's OK. You may have been too busy or a little shy or just plain not into it. That's understandable.

This one is different. You are part of this. If you're going to attend just one military reunion, This is The One. Don't miss it. Lay in your plans. "Fall In" and get ready for a one-of-a kind event.

Welcome home. We can't wait to see you.