| Bert Hubble'sTHE BOW-WOW
REPORTDecember 2003promoting Friendship - Communication - Understanding Distributed Quarterly: March - June -
September - December | 
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Fellow Platoon Members:
May 6th – May 9th 2004 Beaumont TX Reunion
Soon Rusty and I will be calling to entice you to participate in the upcoming reunion. You already have the basic information but here it is again:
Group Name: Scout Dog Reunion Dates: May 6th – May 9th 2004 Place: Holiday Inn Beaumont Midtown I-10 Reservations: 409-892-2222 Room Rate: $71.30 includes Room & Tax Dinner Banquet: Saturday Evening May 8th 2004, 7:00 PM
$25.20 per person paid in advanceAirport Transportation: Free Shuttle Your pre-paid costs for the upcoming Reunion, which should be sent to Bertram Hubble 143 S. San Jose Drive Glendora CA 91741. I am reachable at 626-335-0428 or Tel 310-335-9499. Rusty may be reached at Tel: 409-787-4225.
Happenings
In November Rusty made his annual pilgrimage to visit the Hubble's in Southern California. Rusty who is now married again, brought his wife Karla and his Step Daughter Kayla. It was a short five day trip which crammed in as much sight seeing as we could. They were given a tour of downtown Los Angeles which included the Financial District, Jewelry District, Clothing Districts, Olvera Street where Los Angeles began , the historic Union Station, Civic Center, the Court House, and no tour would be complete with out a visit to the famous O.J. Simpson Criminal Courts Building. We also visited the Hollywood Walk of Stars, the Mann Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, and the Universal City Walk. We took in the J. Paul Getty Museum, San Pedro-Ports of Call, and the Santa Monica & Redondo Beach areas. A drive out to Palm Springs and a trip up San Jacinto Mountain (over 8,000 feet high) via the Arial Tram was a great way to spend one day. At the top snow was still present and the view of the desert valley below was awesome. We took some pictures and Karla and Kayla built a snowman. On our way back we stopped at the March Air Field Museum in Riverside to see the War Dog Statue again. Rusty and I presented the Museum with a framed picture of the Original 47th Scout Dog Platoon Graduating Class of August 18, 1945 from Fort Robinson, Nebraska that was provided to us by Lowell Rosnau together with the history of the unit compiled from data that was taken from Jonathan's web site and organized with dividers. We concluded his visit by taking in the USC vs. UCLA football rivalry game in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum where 92,000 fanatics (82,000 of which were cheering for USC) can verify what really happened that day. The final score was USC 47 – UCLA 22. For the few Bruin fans that did show up, it was not a pretty sight. Need I say more? The Hubble's were proud that they delivered another earthquake-free and disaster-less tour where all parties were returned home in excellent condition except for being worn out and exhausted from the easy life style we lead out here on the coast.
At the same time that we are having our reunion in Beaumont, Jesse Mendez is having a dedication of two more pedestals at the War Dog Memorial on Sacrifice Field at Fort Benning. This ceremony will honor the dogs and handlers who were killed in action. The date of the ceremony is Saturday May 8th, 2004. If you live near Fort Benning and are not able to attend our reunion but could attend and represent the 47th and 59th Scout Dog Platoons at the dedication, we would be most appreciative. There will be a reading of the dogs and handlers who were KIA from each unit. I know that you would find it a worthwhile and meaningful experience. To participate in or attend this ceremony you may call Jesse Mendez at Tel: 706-563-1775.
Platoon Members
As a follow-up to the September report, Rene Peterman did send us some nice pictures from his WWII service with the original unit. Jonathan Wahl has them now and is going to select some to post on our site.
Be sure to check out the 47th web site's message board from time to time. You never now what comments may show up. The following comment was received from Mike Selix: “I stumbled across your website and wanted to thank you for allowing me to see pictures of my father I had never seen. My father SSGT James Selix died in action when I was 10, and I cherish every picture I can find. Thank you again from my family and me. Mike Selix – Colorado Springs, CO.
Randy Kimler tipped us off to another 47th platoon member who we had never had contact with before. We did have him listed but had never been able to locate him. His name is David L. Rainey. His dog was King 36A6 and was with the platoon from December 1970 to July 1971. He lives in Seaside Oregon and was glad to be contacted. I am having difficulty with his e-mail address so for now he is on my mailing list. David when you get this, please confirm your e-mail address.
Joe White who served with the 47th Scout Dog Platoon from Feb 1970 to October 1970 is the founder of the National War Dog Memorial Project. His new web site can be found at http://www.wardogmemorial.com . Joe is making plans for a traveling K9 Veterans Memorial with a tentative starting date of 3/15/2005.
Tom Masch of Living Military Displays is continuing his work for a War Dog Memorial in Wappingers Falls N.Y. Tom is also still applying pressure on government officials to get more armored vehicles in Iraq. He received a letter from a trooper in Iraq thanking him and acknowledged that they are getting 20 new up armored hummvees in Iraq.
Don Jestes has informed us that we may sign a petition for a War Dog Stamp on-line at http://www.petitiononline.com/4269/petition.html.
Rusty has come down with a case of pneumonia. He is still at home but that is serious business so he is taking it slow and trying to get back on his feet.
Curt Knapp, who was with 2nd Brigade Headquarters at L.Z. Sally, has just retired from American Airlines after 20 years and has a new e-mail as follows: curtknapp@peoplepc.com.
I need new e-mail addresses for Tommy Prisoc, Thomas Muir, Kenneth Hudson, and David Rainey.
In-Memory
The following was sent to me from Jim Heins:
“Dear men of the scout dog platoons--I am very sad to tell you about the death of Mary Heins on December 1st. Mary loved you guys, and she was so happy to have completed the quilt with the names of the dogs of the 47th platoon. At her death she was well along with her book, PRIVATE BLUE, about a scout dog platoons in Vietnam. I have many folders of her notes and many pages of chapters she had already written. She had already made a reservation at the Holiday Inn in Beaumont, Texas for your reunion next May. With sadness I cancelled that reservation. If anyone among your group would be interested in having her notes and writing, please contact me; I am Mary's father living at 2820 Cherry Hills drive, Champaign, IL 61822.--Jim Heins”Just a comment on Mary: It took a lot of courage for Mary to contact us after finding our web site on line. She called me and wanted to know if she could join us in Columbus for the reunion. I asked her what her interest was and after talking with her told her that it would be fine. She was an aspiring writer and was interested in our unit and wanted to write a novel about a war dog platoon. She was coming alone and I did not want her to be disappointed with her decision. I do not remember how but she somehow missed the bus from the hotel to Fort Benning. She was upset about that but we told her that their was no problem as Jonathan Wahl was driving and she could drive over with Jonathan and me. After the ceremony she re-joined the bus group. We had a terrific program at that affair and I felt that Mary enjoyed the trip very much. After the reunion she made a beautiful quilt with the squares filled in with the names of the dogs from the 47th Scout Dog Platoon. Jonathan has the quilt now and will bring it to Beaumont TX for you all to see. I did not get to know Mary well enough to understand everything about her but I do know that she was special and that she died way to soon for this world to appreciate her gifts. I will miss her presence at the Beaumont reunion.
Also we have learned that Stan Roach of Des Moines Iowa passed away December 27th 2003 of esophageal cancer due to Agent Orange. Stan was with the 101st and served with the 42nd IPSD. Some of you may have known him.
Take care of yourselves,
Bert
Author: Bertram M. Hubble Editor/Publisher: Jonathan D. Wahl http://www.47ipsd.us © 2003 Bertram M. Hubble