Vietnam War Dog Memorial

The Vietnam War Dog Memorial, entitled “Dog Man – Take Point”, honors America’s war dogs, especially those that served during the Vietnam War.  The Wall has 58,317 names of fallen American service men and women engraved on it, and it would probably have 10,000 more names if it were not for the K9s that served alongside American servicemen in Vietnam.

The Vietnam War Dog Memorial honors the approximately 4,900 K9s that were deployed to Vietnam.  Around 350 died due to injury or disease.  Only 204 dogs were returned to US soil.  The rest of these dogs were classified as equipment by the military and were not given a ride home.  Handlers were given the option to take their K9s to be put down.  The rest were given to the South Vietnamese.

Atop the Vietnam War Dog Memorial is a statue of CWD Mazzie NDD, a real war dog.  The statue was created by sculptor Lena Toritch and is a beautiful work of art.  Two plaques are displayed on the sides of the pedestal.  “Dog Man – Take Point” explains the purpose of the Memorial and recognizes Layton City’s RAMP grant as a major contributor for this project.  The other plaque tells a short biography of CWD Mazzie NDD.  Around the perimeter of the base of the Memorial are honor bricks of actual war dogs.

According to several sources in the Vietnam War Dog Community, this is the only place in the United States with a permanent Vietnam Wall and a Vietnam War Dog Memorial together at the same location.