Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Remembering Alabama's Four-Legged War Heroes

On Veterans Day 2008, the Alabama War Dogs Memorial monument was unveiled at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile. It is a tribute to war dogs and their handlers--from World War II through today.

Alabama has produced at least 1,000 such teams, but the monument to honor them is in danger. The Alabama War Dogs Memorial board paid down half of the $50,000 it cost to create the monument, but fund-raising dried up as the economy soured. That has left the board some $24,000 shy of paying for the monument.

A fund-raising deadline of December 1 has been set, and if sufficient funds are not raised quickly, the board might look into melting down the statue to pay off the debt. "We are in a dire situation," said John O'Malley, of Birmingham, president of the board.

You can donate by mailing a check to:

Alabama War Dogs Memorial
337 Turnberry Road
Birmingham, AL 35244.

You can visit the organization's Web site at http://www.awdm.org/. And here is more background about the memorial:

Alabama War Dogs Memorial

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