Robert Forsyth
Bob joined the Marines in 1942, did his War Dog Training at Camp Lejeune, and then joined the 1st Marine War Dog Platoon with the 2nd Raider Battalion. These Marines got the familiar "barks n' howls" that all good Dawgs are familiar with . . . that is until the 1st Platoon showed their stuff at Bougainville. No more jokes!
Later assignments came with the 4th Marines on Guam and Okinawa. Bob is a recipient of the Bronze Star (Bougainville) and "2nd Louie" bars at Okinawa. Bob was discharged in 1945, but, like many, was recalled for the Korean War.
These days Bob graces the halls of the Moore County Kennel Club (MCKC), Sandhills, North Carolina, where Bob and fellow members drive support activities for the Young Dawgs of Fort Bragg and Camp Legeune - seven years running.
Big time Dawg "Hoooaaahs" to LCpl Matthew Balady, MCAS Yuma, for putting us on the trail of a REAL DAWG
Meet Chief Rick Matott
Rick rotated out of Ubon RTAFB, Thailand in Oct 1974 leaving Prinz K080 behind. A recollection that all of us Old Dawgs personally and deeply regret.
He was reassigned to Seymour-Johnson AFB where he worked patrol dog Norman for several months at the bomb dump. Rick met his wife, Deb (she was Air Force LE), and they married in July 1975. In November 1975, Rick went to Drug Dog School with patrol dog Rex. Rick remembers Rex as a dog with “attitude,” and that he had twice had to seriously educate Rex as to which of them was the alpha male. “Great drug dog, we found lots of dope.”
In October 1976, he and Deb were assigned to Ramstein Germany until October 1979. His recollection of that tour was “Too many ‘war games’ and first exposure to terrorists (Bader Meinhoff Gang and Red Army Faction).” They were active and placing explosives (now IED’s etc … at US bases in Germany. He later worked drug dog Sam at Ramstein, nearby Vogelweh and Customs. Sam and Rick found hash, meth and marijuana in some pretty ingenious locations. In the fall of 1978, Rick left the K9 Section for promotional purposes. He was assigned to the Training Section until leaving in October 1979. Deb was pregnant with their son at the time.
In November 1979, Matott went to wonderful Ellsworth AFB South Dakota and worked aircraft security. His wife’s hitch was up after doing 5 years and she got out. Their son Richard was born in December 1979. After eight years, Rick had enough and decided to leave the Air Force in Sep 1980.
Meet Tommy Gannon
Tommy Gannon was born and raised in New Orleans. He entered the US Air Force in 1969, arriving at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, 10 months later, assigned to the 56th Security Police Squadron K9 Section. He worked perimeter posts with Sentry Dog Major. In 1971 he was reassigned to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota where he completed his enlistment in 1973.
He knocked around the oil fields for a couple of years, then decided to use some of those GI benefits by returning to school at the New Orleans Community College. In his first semester there, he was fortunate to land a job in the maintenance department of the college. He earned his degree in Applied Science (Carpentry) and remained on the staff of the college for 31 years.
Meet Gary Curtiss
Gary J. Curtiss, CCR, CP, CM, born October 1, 1947, in New Haven, CT, Gary moved to TX when he was nine years-old with his mother and brand new stepdad. He graduated from Clear Creek High School in League City, TX, in 1966. Upon graduation, he joined the US Navy, and went directly to Lackland AFB to train Erich (81X2) “so that we could participate in the police action/Southeast Asia Wargames in Danang, RVN.” Gary claims that he was nothing special, “but the dogs and guys I served with certainly were.”
Gary returned home, assigned to New London, CT, to finish his time and duty in his enlistment. Married and divorced, Gary moved back to Texas, and graduated from court reporting school with honors in Houston. He holds the Certificates of Proficiency and Merit as well as state certifications and is one of the very few ever to have taken those tests and passed them back-to-back within the same day. Upon graduation he moved to New Orleans in 1972, worked for a few firms over the next several years, and with the help of a new wife Nancy he established Curtiss Reporting, Inc. Gary states that Nancy was his True Hero. After three failed protocols and becoming an experimental program patient at M.D. Anderson and a true cancer survivor and incredible fighter, Nancy died in 2002 following her 17-year battle with a very aggressive lymphoma. When his insurance dropped coverage upon the implementation of the experimental program, he worked 12 to 18 hours a day seven days a week to pay the $500,000 personal indebtedness the years of treatment incurred.