SSgt. Jason Campbell, kennel master at Patrick Air Force Base, started a fund-raising campaign to place "War Dog Memorial" on Patrick Air Force Base. His initiative was sparked after watching the "War Dogs" documentary. On March 1, 2002, he invited as many Florida VDHA members as possible to visit the kennel, meet the handlers and their bomb and drug dogs, and attend a formal presentation I gave on the war dogs, which was followed by a poignantly staged tribute to Air Force working dogs and handlers and a salute to fallen war dog teams. The presentations were followed by a reception at the kennels in honor of the nation's past war dog teams and the on-duty military working dog teams. The VDHA veteran war dog handlers able to attend the event were Sandy Parker, Pete Peters, Tom Blanton, Bob Cook, Ted Marshall, Bill Rominger, Joe Ertel, Dick Steinberg, and Ben Cox.. At the reception there was plenty of good food and a huge sheet cake with a picture of a German Shepherd dog in the icing. What was interesting is that no one wanted to eat the piece of cake with the picture of the dog in the icing. It was the only piece of cake left. Everyone had a great time mingling and sharing stories. Sheri Wells, long time dog activist, deserves a great big thank you for planning and organizing much of the activities for the VDHA members and other guests who attended.
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