Terry Strickland served in the USAF as a Sentry Dog Handler with service at 3rd SPS, Bien Hoa (1967-68), Republic of Vietnam with his K-9 partner
King; 388th SPS, Korat Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand (1968-69)
with his K-9 partner Mr. Misty X851.
As an active member of the “Old Dawgs & Pups” program, Terry
supported Military Working Dog teams (USAF, US Army, and US Navy) for more
than five years of six-month deployments. He supported the troops while they were “Boots on the Ground”
and
continued each and every day to show his support for the American fighting
men and women of the United States Military.
Terry was a founding member of the Nemo’s War Dog Heroes Memorial Committee.
Following a VSPA reunion at Lackland in 2003 where the NWDHMC was formed,
Terry volunteered thousands of hours of his time, along with his personal
financial commitments, to the “Nemo Committee” and the Nemo Memorial. He
personally committed “seed funds” for the memorial and continued to raise
funds, built chain link fences, planted
landscaping. He attend meetings with military personnel to research historical facts to ensure that the Nemo
Memorial was accurate.
Terry
was one of the primary planners in designing the Memorial. His drive to make
the memorial as complete and accurate as the facts dictate from military
reports and artifacts would allow, continued from the first day that the
historical ground was discovered in 2003. Terry spent hundreds of hours
researching military documents, assisting in logistics to ensure that the
history of our MWD was captured for historical records.
Due to his efforts, the memorial stands as a constant historical reminder
and symbol for all MWD handlers that pass through Lackland as handlers that
have previously served, who are serving, and who will serve in this proud
military profession.
In addition, Terry’s commitment to the Nemo Project never waivered,
even at times when his personal health prohibited his day-to-day work on the
project. He never compromised his pursuit to “make history right” and to
keep the goal for an educational center to be established to the Nemo
Memorial. Terry’s professional knowledge in governmental affairs has been
and is still an extremely valuable tool in assisting the NWDHMC in its focus
to ensure that the memorial is historically accurate.
Terry was responsible for obtaining the lost records of the “Dogs of
Thailand” and tireless efforts assisting many handlers with being able to
obtain those records where no records had previously existed. His tenacity
and quest for the history of the “lost dogs” has closed many holes in the
hearts of MWD handlers of the Vietnam era.
Terry donated hundreds, if not thousands of hours of his time and personal
finances to projects for the VSPA, and other veteran organizations and
groups. His commitment and energies for all of the above projects, programs,
and services stood for an individual that served his country and fellow service veterans.
Terry like many of us, was exposed to Agent Orange and paid the price.
Left To Right: Terry Strickland, Kelly Bateman, Bill Cummings, and Ernie
Childers--the driving force behind the Nemo War Dog Memorial. Until then, Nemo's
kennel location had been a bare concrete slab.