10/01/2013
Warriors Medal of
Valor
2016 - Russell Walters joined the U.S. Army
at the age of 17 and was trainedas a military occupational specialist vet
tech. After several military training classes as dog medic, he was assigned to
scout dog training at Ft. Benning before being deployed to Vietnam. He
initially was assigned to the Dog Training Detachment in Bien Hoa before
accepting the assignment as the first vet tech for the 1st Cavalry Div. 62nd
IPCT (infantry platoon combat track). He began to update and treat the tracker
dogs along with the 1st Cav’s scout dogs (59th IPSD). While still classified as
a vet tech he volunteered to go on dangerous missions with the tracker teams
providing support as a cover man.
At times he was called on to provide human medic duties. Doc extended his tour
and served with the 62nd IPCT, 57th IPSD, 59th IPSD, and the 48th IPSD.In one action, Doc provided support to a 59th scout dog operation that resulted
in the death of a scout dog and 10 casualties including the death of the
platoon leader. Wounded himself, Doc refused medical treatment to provide for
his fellow soldiers.
After Vietnam, Doc. continued his military service by becoming an Army nurse
and was commissioned as an officer. He added to his résumé by becoming a
qualified paratrooper, and a member of an 18-man forward surgical team. During
the following years Doc treated wounded Marines from Beirut deployed in
Operation Just Cause, Panama. Deployed to the Gulf War 1990-91. He retired in
1992 as a major in the Army Medical Corp.
Outside his military career, Doc, authored a teleplay entitled “Let Loose the
Dogs of War” for the TV production of “Tour of Duty.” He published a book
titled Knights Blessing using the 62nd IPCT as the background story. He’s been
involved as a reenactor dog handler and is assisting in sending “care packages”
to today’s MWD and handlers.
2016 - Al Dodds volunteered for sentry dog training while in U.S. Navy Boot
Camp in 1967.
Al and his dog Happy M717 were one of six teams selected to replace six dogs
lost out of 30 at several installations in I Corp., including the Marble
Mountain transmitter site.
Al and his dog Happy’s first night on post was Christmas Eve 1967 keeping the
Marble Mountain transmitter site safe. Charlie tried everything to destroy the
transmitter station, but the sentry dog teams did their jobs foiling every
attack. During the Tet Offensive 1968 the transmitter site was never out of
commission.
The above narrative is a young man’s tour of duty that all can relate to as dog
handlers in Vietnam or Thailand doing the job of searching for intruders that
wanted to cause destruction and harm and as handlers who defended U.S. assets
and protected troops.
Al had been working with his 4½-year-old German shepherd, Tess, as a cadaver
dog team in Florida. In 2006 he was approached with the idea of working
Tess in Iraq helping to find the remains of five servicemen missing and
presumed dead. In 2007 Al and Tess were one of three dog teams contracted by
the U.S. Army with that important mission. Al and Tess’s first year-long tour
began in February 2007 and ended with a short break before they were asked to
go back for a second deployment, which ended in March 2009.
The two tours included hot spots in the Iraq areas of Mosul, Fallujah,
Malmoudiya, and Baghdad searching for the missing U.S. servicemen and mass
graves. The teams were able to find two of the five missing American troops.
They found two more troops that went missing while Al and Tess were in country.
Upon returning from Iraq Al and Tess continued their work in finding human
remains in the southeast United States until Tess died in 2015. Al continues
finding human remains for law enforcement with his new dog Aryck, Tess’s son.
2016 - Frank Gavaldon
served three tours of duty in Vietnam:
1965-66 – 1st Bn, 9th Marines as an 0351
1968-69 – 1st scout and sentry dog platoon, 3rd MP Bn
1969-70 – 26th Marines, 1st Marine Div, NCOIC of sensor control and management
platoon (SCAMP)
On April 23, 1968, Cpl. Gavaldon and his sentry dog Silver were assigned to
Battery A, 2nd Light Anti-Aircraft Missile (LAAM) Battalion patrolling adjacent
to the missile site on Ky Hoa Island just off the coastal air base of Chu Lai,
South Vietnam, when Silver alerted to something on the perimeter. Infiltrators
were spotted inside the inner wire. Gavaldon fired at the intruders and called
for assistance. This incident was the first known enemy probe of the unit’s
island perimeter, and it was determined that the actions of Gavaldon and Silver
prevented significant casualties to U.S. forces and the certain destruction of
expensive equipment. Sgt. Harold (Hank) Edward Byers, 1st Sentry Dog Platoon
Kennel Master indicated that for his “conspicuous bravery” and actions he
initiated a letter recommending Frank Gavaldon for an award.
Capt. Thomas. R. Snead also wrote letters to the commanding office of
Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Military Police Battalion reporting the
incident, but Frank has never received any award or commendation for his
action. After his 15 years of active duty in the Marines, Frank was
employed by the State of Washington as an investigator, industrial relations
agent, and program manager. He was appointed to the State Veterans’
Advisory Council, and as an advisor to the Central Washington University Law
and Justice Department. Frank served five two-year terms as an advisor to the
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Frank is a life member of VDHA, VFW, Disabled American Vets (DAV), and is also
a member of the American Legion and the Marine Corps League.
Frank has served in leadership positions on numerous local, state, and national
boards and commissions. Despite his medical issues as a 100 per cent
disabled veteran, he continues his work advocating for veterans’ rights.
