Sentry Dog Ara (9M72) - U-Tapao, Thailand - June-1967/June-1968:
I am Dave Broeker and I remember arriving at U-Tapao and being told that the K-9 Facility was not yet ready for habitation. My orders were to report and be assigned a Sentry Dog. I had my heart set on quickly adapting to a new four legged friend and I was ready, willing, and able! But this was not to be….yet! The next nine months were pure Hell, waiting, and waiting ,and waiting, for the inevitable to happen. I got sick of writing in my daily diary that “K-9 teams and dogs have still not arrived”. I had no idea that it would be nine long months before they would finally arrive. Meanwhile, I would have to be content to bide my time. But I wasn’t content! I hated the whole stinkin’ idea of being sent over to ‘God Knows Where’, and then having to wait for ‘God Knows How Long’, to connect up with the K-9 Unit.
Then, on March 26th, it all came together for me. TSgt. Tom Swartz, the Kennelmaster, assigned ARA (9M72) to me and I felt complete again. Ara was one of the five female dogs that had been sent over to U-Tapao for the U.S. Government to eventually give to the King of Thailand. She was a playful dog and was quick to obey hand and verbal signals. She new the difference between training and playtime and it was always a pleasure to play with her because this was a time when I could actually forget about the stress and the tremendous heat and the loneliness for my family. She made me feel whole because she became the other half our ‘team”. I think she was born with a “wooden leg” because she was always hungry and wanted to eat almost anything, that sensitive nose of hers could detect. One of the funniest incidences was when she tried to eat one of the “mangdahs” (a very large flying waterbug) and it grasped ahold of her lower lip. She fought that bug, who wasn’t going to be eaten without a fight, until I could pry it loose from her mouth. Her actions were almost like when a dog tries to get peanut butter off the roof of their mouths. It was hilarious!
Thinking back, I miss her so. |
