USAF Police Art
We are featuring works from members of the career field in this section.
Trusted Partner
Trusted partner by my side
You sense there’s trouble near But your courageous loyalty Surpasses any fear You tell me of the foes advance But utter not a word And though they did their best to hide Their every move you heard With presence cloaked by midnight’s veil Surprise is their intent But they misjudged your K-9 nose That found them by their scent You gave away their hiding place And then you made your stand Without a thought of giving up Though death, was close at hand You are my partner and best friend And though we must soon part Your memory and comradeship Will live within my heart Oh yes my valiant warrior Your deeds shall long be known Of how you carried on the fight, Long after I’d gone home. Howard G. Yates @ February 12, 2007 |
Artist unknown.
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K-9 Memorial Quilt
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My husband Monty and I are both older Air Force handlers and instructors with several PACAF tours between us. Monty served 2 tours at DaNang and PhuCat Air Bases, Vietnam, (1968-1970), as well as accompanied tours with me at Clark AB, Philippines, and the PACAF Military Working Dog Training Center, Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan, (1976-1981).
I originally wanted to make a small quilt with a K-9 center surrounded by various PACAF unit patches to display at the PACAF K-9 Reunion, 19-22 May 2013, Branson, MO. We had several patches in our personal collection, but needed more. Special thanks to Dale Warke and John Grammer for adding their patches, as well as a huge THANK YOU! to Lee-Jackson Militaria of San Jose, CA, http://www.ljmilitaria.com/ for allowing me to download patch photos from their military memorabilia website used to complete the design. However, the K-9 Memorial Quilt evolved into a larger project after watching the premier of Animal Planet's "Glory Hounds." Monty had known many other service branches handlers, as well as had become acquainted with Australian dog teams while in Vietnam. We pondered how many dog teams had been killed in action over the years. Our research yielded a gut-wrenching 605 overall casualties, including Australian, British and Danish teams. I expanded my design to incorporate all 605 names of KIA US Forces, our Allies and Coalition handlers and dogs, from Vietnam to present. Another USMC dog team KIA after the quilt's completion, Cpl David M. Sonka and his MWD Flex, had their names later added. I evaluated several fancy quilting methods to showcase the centerpiece dog. However, I went back to my K-9 days where every handler first saw an assigned MWD--behind chain link kennel fencing. Thus, the simple 2-inch crosshatch was quilted to resemble it. A divided mariners’ compass star represents their origins from all over the globe and where they served their countries throughout their brief lives. I cried every day I worked on this quilt. A name would catch my eye and I'd stop to reflect on that ultimate sacrifice. My cousin said it was that person's spirit trying to get my attention. It reminded me of an old Russian proverb attributed to genealogy research, "You live for as long as you are remembered." Here, today, you 607 handlers and dogs are cherished, honored and remembered. Here’s a link to the PDF containing all names, including recent KIAs not included after completion of the quilt: http://www.vspa.com/k9/downloads/handlers-dogs-kia.pdf Cathy J. Moore Former SSgt, US Air Force K-9 Handler & Instructor 1974-1981 |
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These pictures are of my father, Billy Davis. After my dad died, I found out many things about his military service that he never spoke about. He was a very humble man. I knew he spent time in Thailand during the Vietnam Nam war, but that was all. He served twenty years and was one of the founding members of the Air Force Elite Guard.
This oil painting of him was designed from this photo and hung in the headquarters of Strategic Air Command (SAC)/Offutt AFB in Bellevue, NE where I was born. The artist kindly added the extra stripe my dad had earned after the photo was taken. (Miraculously, I now have this painting - quite a story in and of itself: shortly after learning about my dad's military history and accomplishments, the painting was found for sale on eBay by a collector who had had it in his garage for many years and decided to downsize. Just a few weeks before seeing it on eBay, I didn't even know it existed, or any of the stories. It now hangs in my home office.)
I'm also told that my dad's photo was used on recruiting brochures for the Air Force and that his uniform hangs in an Air Force museum.
My life has been significantly touched by many close and extended family members and friends who have served. These are some of my personal reasons for remembrance and gratitude to all who serve: past, present, and future.
Tammy Davis Dodd
The artist was Arthur Hayden, who was part of our mostly military team of artists and photographers who worked in the Central Office Of Presentations, located in the SAC Headquarters Building! He was a civilian who worked primarily in oils and created mostly renditions of various aircraft but whose skills extended to portraits.
John Derreck
This oil painting of him was designed from this photo and hung in the headquarters of Strategic Air Command (SAC)/Offutt AFB in Bellevue, NE where I was born. The artist kindly added the extra stripe my dad had earned after the photo was taken. (Miraculously, I now have this painting - quite a story in and of itself: shortly after learning about my dad's military history and accomplishments, the painting was found for sale on eBay by a collector who had had it in his garage for many years and decided to downsize. Just a few weeks before seeing it on eBay, I didn't even know it existed, or any of the stories. It now hangs in my home office.)
I'm also told that my dad's photo was used on recruiting brochures for the Air Force and that his uniform hangs in an Air Force museum.
My life has been significantly touched by many close and extended family members and friends who have served. These are some of my personal reasons for remembrance and gratitude to all who serve: past, present, and future.
Tammy Davis Dodd
The artist was Arthur Hayden, who was part of our mostly military team of artists and photographers who worked in the Central Office Of Presentations, located in the SAC Headquarters Building! He was a civilian who worked primarily in oils and created mostly renditions of various aircraft but whose skills extended to portraits.
John Derreck
