Most of us are aware of the all the sacrifices that were made by the brave men and women who served in the Vietnam War. What people are less aware of are the hundreds of dogs that were sent to Vietnam to serve, as well. Most of them didn’t come home.
Mike Vorhees was a dog handler during the war, and he saw firsthand how hard the dogs fought alongside their human allies.
When he returned home, he became a chaplain. He decided that he wanted to do something to honor all the lost dogs. He felt that they deserved to have a war memorial, too.
He explained:
“I have one distinction no other pastor can say. I can say Satan saved my life at least three times.”
Satan was the name of a dog he worked with in Vietnam and one of the reasons he is so passionate about this memorial.
He convinced the Highground Veterans Memorial to add the dog memorial. He said:
“I’m so grateful that the Highground is doing this. I’m just overwhelmed with gladness and joy that finally the dogs are getting the recognition that they much deserved.”
La Crosse, Wisconsin, sculptor Michael Martino was selected to create the memorial by a committee of veterans after submitting sketches and a model.
He described how he came up with the design, saying:
“I had the soldier kind of crouching down and one leg in front of the other so there’s forward motion while controlling the dog. They’re bonded at the hip. The idea was the teamwork and closeness of the soldier and dog. It’s kind of an inseparable bond.”
After Vorhees left Vietnam, Satan got a new handler: Erling Anderson.
Anderson died in Vietnam, and Satan was injured there. His widow shared stories of her husband and Satan with David Backstrom, who also had a big part in making sure there was a dog memorial built.
Backstrom explained:
“She found rest there. With that I felt it was necessary that this story be told, and I went to the (Highground) board of directors. I explained to them that a hero soldier and dog in bronze should be one of the sculptures placed at the Highground. After my 20-minute presentation, they all looked at each other and said ‘It needs to be here. There’s certainly an awareness of how important canines are, but people don’t understand it as well as they should.”
Vorhees feels like the monument is the perfect way to show thanks to these dogs, especially Satan.
He talked about their time together, saying:
“Satan had kind of a hook on the end of his nose and when he smelled something his nose would go up and he would turn his head from side to side, sniffing the air. He would stop at one point and that was usually where the strongest smell was coming from.”
Satan had a lasting impact on Vorhees, and he still thinks of him often.
He wishes he could have kept the dog with him and feels bad that he wasn’t around when the dog passed away. He found out that Satan did survive the injuries he received when Anderson was killed, but he died a few years later from a tick-related disease. Vorhees said:
“The only regret I have in my life is I never went to say goodbye to Satan. If I had one minute back in my life, I would say goodbye. I just wonder if, in his mind, he was thinking, ‘Where is my master?’ I struggle with that.”
Now, Vorhees will have a place to visit Satan and remember him. Satan and the other dogs of Vietnam will not be forgotten and will get the recognition they deserve.
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