Durbin:
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I remember a night in either Ban Me Thuot or Khanh Duong sleeping in our tent when a rat climbed up the tent pole and fell on top of the guy’s mosquito net. He smacked it with his fist and knocked it up to the top of the tent only to have it fall on the netting again... after a couple harder punches; it fell to the floor and scurried out of the tent. The next night, I had Lady sleeping in my cot... fleas or no fleas (and I did get fleas.)
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Acosta:
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When I was there in 69, she mostly stayed in our bunker. Once, she caught a rat. I think Hasty patted her on the head and she took it outside and got rid of it.
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Schneider:
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I recall that Lady was no lady. (In reference to a picture) I think that pup on the left is Whiskey, a pup that I took for a while. But he preferred one of the cooks to me and that's where he wound up spending all his time. He always took a keen interest in where his next meal was coming from and the guy doted on that dog.
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Craven:
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I recall Lady would make her rounds each night to each guard duty post to get her customary pat on the head as if to say “hi” to us so we wouldn’t get too lonely. Two photos I have are me with Lady and her 6 pups that she had in early 1969 under Holmgren’s bunk. Three pups names were Cruit (short for Recruit) 2nd platoon, 2nd squad adopted him, Dum Dum (no explanation needed) 2nd platoon, 3rd squad took that one in) and Butch, (Platoon Sgt E. Smith had him and bulked him up with mess hall scraps). I don’t remember the other three pup’s names. Maybe some other 69ers might remember.
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Young:
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Back in An Khe, I remember her as being called "Bitch" and "Boom Boom". I vaguely remember her as being called that when I first arrived at Camp Radcliff.
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Little:
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I became so infatuated with her that I had plans to take her home. Sgt Ruffin was having all the paper work filled out on her. Got her shots, and I was getting set to ship her home, when I got new orders that had me leaving six days sooner. So I didn't get everything finalized on Lady. Ruffin had listed her name as "Whore" on the application.
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Durbin:
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Little’s affection came from the fact that Lady went with him on guard duty at the quarry. She always sensed the presence of the Sgt of the Guard long before their arrival and signaled him with her low growl. Captain Hall refused to allow her out on the road as she had a knack for setting off the trip flares set up around the perimeter.
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Pike:
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I remember another Pup being called "Blivet". And another one called, "Drunk".
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Durbin:
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I remember Blivet well. That pup came from the litter born before we left Pleiku for Ban Me Thuot. I don't remember if Blivet or another pup from that litter became an alcoholic. The pup could really guzzle beer. Someone added a little hard stuff to the mix, serving up a boilermaker. The pup would lap it up... back off and bark at the bowl... then lap up some more and go through the same routine. From what I heard, that pup was killed when an ammo crate toppled over on it. I also remember one of the pups wore a splint when it broke its leg.
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Little:
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I remember Lady as having a litter of pups when we first got there and one more before we left AnKhe.
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Durbin:
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I know of at least one litter in Pleiku. The one Craven has a picture of would have been at Khanh Duong. I guess that's why "our Lady was a Tramp!
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Acosta:
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Lady (still referred to as Bitch) was run over by a Vietnamese truck at one of the bridges... I think it was Bridge 30. Dum Dum fell out of the back of a five ton dump going back to camp and broke its back end. A few days later a new guy put it out of its misery.
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Manders:
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(Lady, alias Bitch & Whore). Boom Boom was one of Lady's pups in An Khe and was all black.
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Friday:
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I remember Boom Boom. She showed up missing, and one of the Vietnamese boys said, "Number one chop-chop."
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Pike:
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I was sorry to hear of Lady's demise, but then, she was always a risk taker.
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Little:
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I often wondered what became of her. I was afraid that if we pulled out, and she was left behind, she'd end up on the dinner table. (Little enclosed a picture of Lady’s home.)
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Durbin:
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What Mr. Little said wasn't too far from the mark. I remember either driving, or co-piloting a truck into town when a Vietnamese bus hit a dog and before it stopped rolling off the side of the road, a Papa San in a three wheeler slammed on his brakes in front of us and went scurrying down the embankment to retrieve it. He was totally oblivious to the fact that we almost plowed into the back of him. I guess when you're really hungry; anything would make a good meal. My Dad told me that during the depression, he was so hungry one time, he tried eating coal. I know that monkey, rat and dog was always fair game. As for rats, I was told, "they eat rice like us." In all my time in Vietnam, I only remember seeing one cat... that was in An Khe, and you couldn't get within 30 feet of it.
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Craven:
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My calendar entry shows Lady was struck and killed by a Vietnamese truck driver on July 8, 1969 at the Bridge 29 work site.
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