In Conversation with… Vietnam Dog Handler, Mark Smoot
We are familiar with the huge injustices served in the direction of MWDs during and after the war in Vietnam. Over four thousand dogs served our nation with faithfulness and only 200 made it home to US soil. There are thousands of stories of men whose hearts shattered when they left their dogs in Vietnam – it’s described as a pain that few will really understand. We have been honored to chat with former US Air Force dog handler Mark Smoot, whose story – while sadly, not uncommon from his era in K-9 – is one that shows how deep wounds of the past can begin to heal with compassion, understanding and the strength of the K-9 family.
Mark Smoot’s family had a long tradition of service with the US Military. “My uncle was a B-52 bomber pilot and my maternal uncles fought in Korea. Military drafts were the norm by the time I was 18 and young men were leaving for the far East in their droves. I thought I might outsmart the US Government if I enlisted, missing out on the draft, but my fate was sealed as soon as I decided to go into K-9 from my original plan of being a military cop.”
Mark’s early contact with K-9 was nothing short of legendary. “Our tech school was across the street from Nemo’s kennels. He was retired by then, but we saw him in action many times – he absolutely inspired me to go to K-9 school. We were all deeply moved by Nemo’s story.”
Crazy Jake
Crazy Jake
Once Mark had completed his training at Lackland Air Force base, he flew to Vietnam and joined the squadron at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, which is where he was paired with Jake – a sentry dog who would be his companion for the next year. “I knew as soon as I met him that Jake was a live wire, which suited me just fine. My first challenge was to train him from a sentry dog to a patrol dog, to best suit the threats we were facing on base.
“Our role was to patrol the perimeter and protect the base from enemy attacks. It was a pretty high profile base, playing home to Special Operations, the 75th Ranger Regiment and the CIA – who were known as ‘Air America’. We needed Jake’s capabilities to support the mission, so I spent the next two week training him for his new job.”
Prior to Mark’s arrival at Nakhon Phanom, Jake had picked up the mantle ‘Crazy Jake’ for his maniacal lunges toward anything that moved. “He had a particular taste for the moving tracks on an M113 armoured personnel carrier.”
The largest of vehicles weren’t safe from Crazy Jake
Mark and Jake were one of 75 dog teams who patrolled the air base. “The base was of huge strategic importance – we had our own armory in the kennels to make sure we were ready to defend at a moment’s notice. Of course, Jake was always ready.”
Mark and Jake would often take the night shift. Known as the K-9 Security Alert Team, they would walk the perimeter, providing break cover to patrolling K-9 teams. “Our radio call sign was Night Fighters. Everyone felt safer when one of our dogs was around.”
Mark describes Jake as a stick of dynamite wrapped in fur, but Mark wasn’t afraid to fall into his bad graces in order to correct him. “I think he respected me because I stood up to him in his mean moments, especially when I was retraining him as a patrol dog. He changed a lot when we changed his role – it almost felt like that was his calling. That whole process of retraining him really galvanized our bond. Much like the dog handlers today who train and then deploy with their dogs. Of course, it didn’t work like that back then, but that period of learning really helped Jake to build his trust in me.”
Air America
Jake and Mark shared Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base with some high profile company. “The CIA guys, known as Air America, were always off on missions, but when they didn’t work, they loved to party. You could characterize the guys as having shaggy beards, wearing Hawaiian shirts and flipflops and propping up the bar on base. I hung out with them quite a bit and they were always asking me to bring my ‘crazy dog’ to go see them. We found ways to sneak Jake into the party now and again.”
Mark recalls one helicopter resupply mission where he and Jake joined the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron for an Air Force Listening Post (LP), up the Mekong River. “It was a huge, clunky HH53 Super Jolly Green that made you feel every bump. The worst part, though, was when they did an emergency touch-and-go landing, where they lowered and raised the ramp before accelerating fast into the air. We didn’t eat the best while we were in Vietnam and with the sleep deprivation and humidity, it all sent me over the edge. I leaned out of a window and introduced the ground below to my lunch.”
Despite Jake’s ferocious reputation, he knew when he was off duty. “He loved being petted and had that real sweet side, but what always struck me was how in tune he was with me. Our bond was unbreakably strong and he would move heaven and earth to protect me.
“The truth was that Jake was a part of me. He represented a piece of home… my family dog that I’d left behind. The people who had raised me and loved me the most. It was like they were all wrapped up in Jake.”
Mark and Jake’s bond was renowned on base too. “If anyone was looking for me, they either knew I was sleeping or with Jake. There wasn’t much in between.”
Unbearable
After 12 months in country, Mark’s deployment was coming to an end, which meant that he had to leave Jake and head home. “As a 19-year-old going to war, I saw some terrible things, but when I think back, seeing him sitting there in his kennel waiting for me as I went to see him for the last time, absolutely kills me. I have a picture of that exact moment and I can’t look at it, even today, without my eyes filling with tears.
“It breaks my heart to think that my government wouldn’t let Jake come home with me, even though it was near the end of the war.”
‘My last moment with Jake’
Even now, over 50 years since Mark last saw Jake, his pain and heartbreak are visible. “The whole ordeal of leaving Jake left me with crushing PTSD, depression and separation anxiety. I’ve grappled with it for decades, with only a very few to talk to – who can understand the weight of that moment and how it has defined my life.”
Mark speaks regularly to a fellow K-9 handler who lives in Oregon, to share their pain and channel their emotions. “He gets it. We talk every week and I regularly get emotional about Jake. The pain has never faded for me. I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that we failed him.”
Mark admits that his pain and emotional suffering have pushed him to the brink. “It’s easy to start planning for your own demise when you have such undercurrents of sadness running through you. Survivor’s guilt is one of the most potent experiences a person can have and I felt it every day for Jake.”
Making shrewd preparations for the sake of his family, Mark visited the Bennett-Houser Funeral Home and met with Debora Kruise – a funeral director. “A lot of people plan their own funerals to help take the burden away from family members when they pass”, explains Mark. “When I sat down with Debora, the conversation quickly turned to Vietnam and to Jake. My emotions spilled over and she was very kind to me.”
After observing Mark’s pain, Debora made a suggestion. “She said to me, ‘why don’t you have a memorial for Jake?’ I broke down again but the thought had crystalized in my mind. Carol asked me to leave it with her while she made some calls. She wanted to help me to make it happen.”
Months went by and Mark hadn’t heard anything more about Carol’s suggestion. “I prayed to God every day for something to happen for Jake. I had promised to leave it with Carol, but I didn’t know how that would take shape. Then one day, I got a call from 436th Security Squadron K-9 Section, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, inviting me to a special ceremony at the base theater, in honor of Jake. I couldn’t believe it.”
Honored At Last
Carol had reached out to the Veteran Affairs, who had contacted bases local to Mark’s home in PA, including Dover AFB. When Senior Airman Courtney Burns – a dog handler at Dover AFB – heard the story, she immediately offered to help in pulling the details of the memorial ceremony together. Courtney said: “When the chaplain from Veteran Affairs reached out to us about a Vietnam dog handler whose dog had been left behind in country, we knew instantly that we needed to act.
“We first had to do our due diligence, to verify Mark and Jake, but once we had located their files, we began pulling together the plans.”
In July of this year, Jake OX14 was formally honored with a memorial service, attended by the Squadron’s K-9 section and their families. Mark said: “It was the most beautiful service for my boy.”
The service included an overview of Jake’s service and his partnership with Mark, followed by a reading of the famous verse, Guardians of the Night, all in the presence of a traditional K-9 memorial, which had been set up on the stage and included the empty kennel, upturned bowl and leash. Jake was granted full military honors, with the American flag folded while Taps played, which was then presented to Mark, to honor Jake’s service and sacrifice.
Mark was presented with a folded US flag, in memory of Jake
The final words of the ceremony were directed at Mark: “We thank you for sharing your memories and entrusting us to honor MWD Jake. We wish you nothing but the best and we hope that this memorial will help you relinquish some of the sorrows you have carried with you, all these years.”
Senior Airman Courtney Burns with Mark on the day of the ceremony
Release
“The ceremony had been a huge release valve for me. It was so fraught with emotion, yet so filled with dignity, respect and honor, I finally felt a sense of peace for Jake. My heart is no less broken, but feeling the respect and brotherhood from the K-9 community of today, meant the absolute world to me.”
Mark had the opportunity to spend time at the kennels at Dover after the ceremony. “Chatting with the handlers and meeting some of the dogs was the perfect way to end the day.”
SR Airman Burns, added: “It was important to us that the ceremony provided some sort of closure or sense of fulfilment to Mark. As we learned of his story and the sorrow that he felt for his K-9, our handlers felt a profound sense of solidarity and compassion for him – as we need only imagine how we would feel if it were one of our own dogs in that situation. The heartbreak felt by our K-9 brothers in Vietnam must never be forgotten – if we learn from it and do better for our K-9 companions now and in the future, their sacrifice won’t have been for nothing.
“It is my hope that other kennels read this story and extend the same support to our K-9 veterans who may still need comfort and closure, like Mark did with Jake. As service K-9 handlers, it is our duty to uphold and respect those who came before us and it’s comforting to know that there are practical ways that we can do this.”
Memories made for Jake at Dover AFB will last a lifetime
K-9 For Life
Mark’s time as a dog handler in Vietnam was just the start of his journey within the community. After returning to the US, he PCS’d to the UK for two years where he was paired with one of the ‘Queen’s dogs’, in support of the Security Squadron based out of RAF Heyford.
Mark spent a total of 17 years in the military – ten of which were in K-9. After transitioning away from the military, Mark longed to utilize his talents with dogs and in 2010, he came into contact with Team Rubicon – a veteran-run disaster response organization. They encouraged him to work with local search and rescue organizations. As word spread of his talents, Mark and his dogs have been called out to help county sheriff’s departments and police departments.
Today, Mark is the adoptive dad to Lackland AFB former bomb dog, Mambo A405 and continues to volunteer with his trained cadaver dog, Jagermeister, where he has attended mud slides, flooding, hurricanes, tornados, to name a few.
“I wanted to put my K-9 skills to use in the civilian community and helping people on the worst day of their lives and that is reward enough. It’s also my way of staying connected to K-9. My heart never left – once you’re K-9, you’re K-9 for life.”
Jake OX14, 1966-1974
