Man's Best Friend and War Hero

They have been parachuted into combat zones, alerted troops to deadly explosives and participated in raids (including the Navy Seal raid that killed Osama bin Laden). But these unsung war heroes happen to have four legs.

Local resident Mike Lemish has dedicated much of his time and energy to telling the story of these American war heroes who cannot speak for themselves. He has worked tirelessly for them to gain recognition for their achievements within the U.S. military.

Lemish is a military dog historian. For 15 years, he was the historian for the Vietnam Dog Handler Association. He currently sits on the medal committee of K9s of the War on Terror and is a board member of the Space Coast War Dog Association.

"I was never a military dog handler or in the military. But I've always been involved with dogs and search and rescue. I got pulled into this years ago when I came across a piece about dogs serving in Vietnam and realized there wasn't a lot of information on the subject," said Lemish.

That article sparked a passion within Lemish that led to authoring two books (War Dogs: A History of Loyalty and Heroism and Forever Forward) and contributing to war dog documentaries that appeared on BBC, PBS, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and Histories Mysteries.

Since WWI, more than 100,000 dogs have served in the US military, according to Lemish. However, using dogs in combat dates back to colonial days. Every branch of the military incorporates dogs, and more than 2,000 dogs currently serve worldwide in the US military, including 475 in Afghanistan, Lemish noted. “Nearly half of the dogs are German shepherds. A lot of Belgian Malinois are trained, along with some Labs and Golden Retrievers,” he continued.

During Vietnam, the military trained dogs primarily to alert troops of the enemy's presence and booby traps in the jungles and to detect explosives. Since moving from the jungles of Vietnam, the military has focused much of the dogs' training on detecting IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), narcotics and contraband, and to carry video surveillance cameras.

For decades, dogs retired from military service were euthanized, but a federal law passed in 2000 changed that practice. Retired military dogs are now used to help train new dogs, work with law enforcement agencies or are available for adoption, like Lemish's newest companion, Lucy. Lemish adopted her in 2010 from Lackland Air Force Base and noted that Lucy will test next month to become a therapy dog to help in nursing homes and in hospitals.

When questioned of any unique facts discovered during his extensive research, Lemish commented, "Here it is 2011 and dogs are still accomplishing things we can't do with electronics or mechanical means. Not just in the military, but also search and rescue, therapy, cancer, etc. That's what I found more fascinating than anything. We still can't replace with technology what dogs can do."

Click here to learn more about adopting retired military dogs. Visit Massachusetts' only War Dog Monument, for which Lemish provided historical information regarding the military dogs. A dedication ceremony for the monument was held on Sunday, Sept. 18 in the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial at Green Hill Park in Worcester. The monument is dedicated to the 4,000 dogs and their handlers who served in Vietnam.

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