AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN HEROES

 

October 8, 1999

 

Mr. Roger R. Rapp
Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs
Department of Veterans Affairs
National Cemetery Administration
Washington, D.C. 20420

Subject: War Dog Memorial

Dear Mr. Rapp:

This note is in response to your letter regarding the Advisory Committee on Cemeteries and Memorials’ denial of my proposal for a War Dog Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery.

 I appreciated your willingness to revisit this matter at the Committee’s October meeting. However, it is apparent that the Committee was already locked into its position of denial, despite detailed information I provided that demonstrated how many Veterans’ lives have been saved as a result of the heroic actions of these dogs.

 It is with great disappointment that I must inform the many supporters of the War Dog Memorial about the Committee’s shortsighted actions to deny this request. It is particularly disheartening that such an action was taken without public testimony, when there are literally thousands of families whose loved ones survived or were spared serious injuries as a result of these highly-trained dogs.

 Your reluctance to honor these canine soldiers is a direct insult to their handlers, the veterans you claim to represent and honor. You and the Advisory Committee had the once in a lifetime opportunity to rectify this tragedy. However, your chance at making a lasting contribution to history has passed.

 On behalf of those individuals whose lives were spared or tremendously improved as a result of the involvement of war dogs, we continue to believe they should be honored and treated with valor.

 

Jeffrey P. Bennett
President and CEO


Click here to go back to previous menu

ani-fire.gif (21280 bytes)

341 Bonnie Circle  Corona, California 91720-2895
War-Dogs Copyright © 1998 all rights reserved. Revised:August 01, 1999.