Health & Fitness
The Weather Did Not Stop the Large Crowd at the Annual K-9 Veterans' Day Celebration.
The following states acknowledged K-9 Veterans' Day 2013 California, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia.
On March 9, 2013 at 11:00 AM, it was partly cloudy, 39 degrees and a SE wind at 9 mph.But, that did not discourage the large crowd of about 200 people from participating in the annual K-9 Veterans' Day at the Michigan War Dog Memorial at Lyon Township.
The Patriot Guard Riders and Operation Injured Soldiers honored fallen Military Working Dogs who have passed on by establishing "Flag Lines" at which their members stood side by side, each holding a 3' x 5' US Flag on a staff or pole.
Amvets Post 2006 provided the Color Guard that represented the departmental flags (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard).
The ceremony commenced with the following branch music:
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U.S. Army - "The Army Goes Rolling Along"
U.S. Marine Corps - "The Marines' Hymn"
U.S. Navy - "Anchors Aweigh"
U.S. Air Force "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder,
U.S. Coast Guard - "Semper Paratus"
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followed by
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.COL Mindy Albright, Sr. Chaplain of the International Fellowship of Chaplains gave the invocation.Phil Weitlauf, Director of the Michigan War Dog Memorial gave a brief history of the Military Working Dogs from WW I and II up through Afghanistan.Don St. Amant of the Vietnam Dog Handlers Association gave an informative talk of his Scout Dog experience while serving with the United State Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.Ken Reynolds, Committee Member of the Michigan War Dog Memorial read the Certificate of Proclamation signed by Governor Rick Snyder who proclaimed March 13, 2013 as K-9 Veterans' Day.Reynolds also acknowledged the following states for recognizing K-9 Veterans' Day as well:California, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia.Oakland County Commissioner District 8, Phil Weipert read a Certificate of Proclamation issued by the Oakland County Commissioners.
Michigan State Police Officer Matt McCaul and Oakland County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Loken discussed how K-9 Units are deployed in our communities keeping us safe on the home front.
The Michigan Search and Rescue Team not only gave a great presentation on what the SAR Dogs do but added a little humor. They couldn't figure out why one of their Cadaver dogs was acting antsy, "Then we realized we were in a cemetery."For 67 years Sergeant Sparks has laid buried at the Michigan War Dog Memorial without a headstone. Sparks was attached to the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion 1st Marine Raider Regiment that survived Bougainville, Guadalcanal, Okinawa, and Guam.
On Saturday, Thanks to the generosity of Jo Johnson from New Mexico, we were able to place a 24" x 12" headstone to create the perfect lasting tribute to unique life lived.
Placing of the Wreath while Taps played:
LTC Scott Hiipakka, U.S. Army and Ray Clinard, Milford Police http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Events/Ceremonies/WreathLayings.aspxI have full permissions to use the following photos taken by David Albright.
https://picasaweb.google.com/djalbright/K9VeteransDay#
I have full permissions to use the following photos taken by Dawn Thierbach.
I also want to thank Jack and Jane Purslow, as well as Skip Nafe for their photos and videos which will be forthcoming so stay tuned for further developments.
