Bert Hubble's THE BOW-WOW REPORT December 1999 promoting Friendship - Communication - Understanding Distributed Quarterly: March - June - September - December To Former Platoon Members of the 47th & 59th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog)

Fellow Platoon Members:

The 47th IPSD Web Site:

The most significant achievement this past quarter has been the extensive additions and changes that Jonathan Wahl has made to our Web Site. If you have not viewed it in a while, be sure you do so and note the following:

1) A rearranged Home Page

2) 59th IPSD has been given better visibility

3) A Platoon Roster added for the 59th IPSD

4) Scout Dog Rosters added for both 47th & 59th IPSD

5) Honor Roll Section added to both Platoon Rosters

6) A page for Newspaper Clippings has been added

7) An Interactive Scout Dog Questionnaire has been added

8) An Interactive History Questionnaire has been added.

It has always been our objective to gather information directly from the platoon members own experiences and knowledge and record that knowledge and information in our Platoon Diary, Platoon Roster, and Scout Dog Roster. With that in mind we encourage all platoon members to review the information that is currently posted and help us to fill in the gaps by completing either or both of the questionnaires that are now available. It is very easy, just answer some questions by filling in the blanks and click on the send button. We have handlers who have not been matched to a dog and dogs that had more than one handler or were transferred to other units and you may be the only person who knows or remembers what happened. Remember, the only history we have is what we record and document. There are no records so what you tell us is what it is.

Recent Contributors:

I would like to especially thank Dale Baker, Charles Franks, Ed Reeves, Marv Carstens, Don Jestes, Kenneth Whitecotton, Franklyn Harrison, and Michael Brown who wrote, provided pictures, orders, or newsclippings or sent us e-mails. The information that you provided was terrific and much of it was new material for us. We will incorporate it into the big picture as best we can.

Expired VDHA Memberships:

You probably noticed from the last DogMan that we had many Expired Members. I inquired about this to Bobby Railey and am told that members will know when to renew their memberships in three ways:

1) By checking the Expired on-line Members Section on the VDHA Web Site.

2) Check the address label on your DogMan for the Expiration Date

3) Each Member will receive a Renewal Letter letting them know when and how to renew.

With all due respect to the Overworked and Underpaid Volunteer VDHA Staff, I do have my doubts about that Renewal Letter. No one I have spoken with has gotten one including me so I am recommending that you check your membership card which will give you the month your membership expires and photocopy your card, attach a check for $20.00 and mail it to Bobby Railey 3301 Leslie Avenue, Temple Hills, MD 20748 at the appropriate time each year. That way we take personal responsibility and we know it's a done deal.

VDHA Membership:

Our Congratulations go out to the new VDHA members this past quarter from the two platoon(s) who are Daniel Barnett and Charles Stevens for the 47th and Thomas Terrill and Donald Graham from the 59th.

Unit(s) Count To Date:	47th IPSD	59th IPSD
Platoon Members Identified:	184	149
Platoon VDHA Members:	58	25
Supporting VDHA Members:	2	2

"Walking Where The Dog Walks - An Odyssey of Interspecies Trust In Vietnam":

Toni Gardner continues to work diligently on her book. A special aspect to her book is to follow several dogs from handler to handler and unit to unit and record their ultimate fate. For our faithful dogs, it was a one way trip. If you remember or know anything at all on Sig K036, Rolf K086, Fellow 0K88, Rebel X202, Major 3M47 (aka Dawg) or Prince (Pearce's Dog) Toni would like to hear from you. She can be reached at Tel: 410-532-7996 or agardner@umbc.edu.

Future Bow-Wow Reports:

I am trying to streamline things for ease of effort, time & cost savings. Beginning with the March 2000 Bow-Wow I want to try something different. In March of next year each VDHA Platoon member who is not on-line will be mailed a Bow-Wow same as before - no change. For each of you who are on-line, I will send you an e-mail letting you know that the report is posted on the Web Site so you can log-in and print it right off the Web. Hope this works for everybody.

If you have recently gotten on-line be sure to let us know so we can mark our records accordingly.

Club 47th:

Club 47th with its on-line Chat Room is a tremendous resource to bring the unit closer together and share information. As a starter, those of you on-line Folks who have not joined yet, please give it a try. If you need any help joining, Jonathan Wahl will be glad to help you. As we all get more time, we can develop this resource. Of course you 59th guys are also invited to join - no problem.

The Washington DC Reunion:

This major event will be held at the Holiday Inn Ballston, VA from Friday October 12th to Sunday October 15th, 2000. Call Joan Elder, telephone 800-878-6991 to reserve a room. With less than a year to go I would not delay. Refer to your DogMan for additional details.

New Books For Better Understanding:

"Reporting Vietnam Part One: American Journalism 1959-1969"
"Reporting Vietnam Part Two: American Journalism 1969-1975"

Published by The Library of America 1998

This two volume set is a unique collection of original newspaper and magazine reports by a generation of American journalists who reported the Vietnam Era.

Happy Holidays & take care of yourselves,

Bert

 

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Author:	Bertram M. Hubble
Editor/Publisher:	Jonathan D. Wahl
© 1999 Bertram M. Hubble