|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Update 9 - May 08
Dear Friends of this Campaign for K9 Veterans Day,
In this wonderful time of the year when things are beginning to bloom around most of us, I feel that I need to encourage all of you to work towards giving bloom to some plans for furthering our campaign. This is that time when many of you who belong to groups and clubs are making plans for your own upcoming events, meetings, and competitions, and more. People in groups, even civic groups, 4-H, Chamber of Commerce, Scouts etc, are in the best of positions to further this cause, as you are already in contact with many more people who may be interested as well. So simply put, please use your event to help get the word out about K9 Veterans Day, and to gather names for our petition drive. And by all means get going on making some plans for March 13, 2009; which falls on a Friday.
As you all know, we do not collect dues, hold fund raisers, or any of that, but of course there are needs here, and some of you are to be thanked for meeting those needs without ever being asked to, as I have done here in the past. And just now I wish to thank another supporter who has taken it upon herself to create some graphics for you to download for free. These are intended to help you to advertise your event, to add to your newsletter, etc, and they are not in any way intended for you to profit from. I personally believe that they will greatly enhance your literature. So everyone go to the site and thank Marilyn. And when you get to the site you can click on any of the choices. Clicking will enlarge the image and give you additional information on how you can use them to best fit your need. If you are interested, and you should be, go directly to
http://abbyk9.fotki.com/downloads/k9vetsday/
Now I have not heard from many of you in a while, so an accurate report on how things went this last March 13 is not possible. What I can tell you is that far and away the Northern Neck Kennel Club in Virginia has set the standard. First they held an annual fund raiser fashion show, but made their primary theme that of honoring our war dogs, with an emphasis of drawing attention to our campaign for K9 Veterans Day, along with getting names on our petition; something that made the news there. Our traveling pictorial memorial was on display at the event, and again when the club honored the dogs during their regional meet, where they again gathered names for our petition drive. And finally it was displayed at their town library, where even more names were gathered. Now that is truly doing something, and I know from my history with them that they are only getting started. Many are saying that they support K9 Veterans Day, but these people have gone well beyond words, and are sincerely working for the dogs that have no voice in all of this, but certainly deserve their own special day of thanks.
Northern Neck is a true working club, with therapy dogs, educational programs, adoption programs, and special activities for children and the elderly. And Sue Anne Bangel, our most loyal supporter for a very long time, and a member of the club, once managed to get her state to be the first to make a proclamation honoring our war dogs, which is something all of you can do. So a special salute to them from us!
And just a quick note regarding petitions before I forget. All we are looking for are names. Addresses and such are not necessary. You see we are not trying to change a law, or anything like that, but are instead simply trying to demonstrate to the Congress that a large number of Americans believe that the dogs deserve their day. If we show that there is such support, from all across the country, then they have to consider our desires, knowing that money is not needed, and no special interest will benefit from it. You see, when it comes right down to it, all that is needed in this campaign is for some Congress Person to submit a bill that declares March 13 as K9 Veterans Day, and then get it passed. Hence it is not really necessary that we raise money for this, but it is truly important to get the word out, and to gather names for the petition.
Finally, it is true that my town, Jacksonville, Florida, became the first ever to declare March 13 to be K9 Veterans Day. I would certainly like to see our city be the first of many, meaning that you guys need to get going to have your town do the same.
On a side note, I am asking that those of you who believe in prayer to pray with me for Gary Goelzhauser. Gary was a fellow dog handler, and slept directly across from me in the unit. He is a good and loving person of faith, and is currently fighting cancer. To date he is fighting like any old dog handler would, but he could use your help. Pray for his continued strength, guidance for the doctors, and continued support from his family who are currently doing a great job.
In closing, we do have much more time to work with now than when we first got started, with just a few short months before March 13. So do get thinking about it, making plans, and getting the word out long before then during events and gatherings over this spring, summer, and fall. Why even if you just have a barbecue with friends, and made the dogs a theme via petition signing, etc, it would help a lot.
Sincerely,
Joe White
K9Veteransday.org
This is a picture of me with our Mayor Peyton at the proclamation signing. Look close and you will see that I stuck one of our stickers on my jacket and it made it onto the picture.
|
|
|
|
April 2008 - Update #6
Dear Friends of the K9 Veterans Day Campaign,
Our first ever celebration on March 13 has now come and gone, and we are already working towards next year. If you did indeed do something to bring recognition to the dogs this year let us know about it. And if you are already making plans for next year let us know about that as well. A sharing of ideas is good for all us, and this forum is a great way to do it.
For my own part I can report to you that our Mayor Peyton, here in Jacksonville, Florida, did indeed sign an official proclamation declaring March 13 as K9 Veterans Day in Jacksonville, and I will share that signing photo with you shortly. Jacksonville is now the first city in the country to do such a thing, and it is a framework that you can use to get your own town to declare such a thing next year. And experience shows that you should get going on a declaration now, as cities are already planning their calendar appointments for 2009. Just drop me a note if you would like some help with putting together such a thing.
In 1993 I had a special flag flown over The Capitol in Washington in honor of all our war dogs. Of course many flags are flown there each day, but never had there ever been one flown especially for the dogs. Well that same flag was again flown over The Capitol this past March 13 in honor of K9 Veterans Day making that particular flag the first one to ever fly with honor there twice. The document that testifies to that fact will be posted on our web site shortly.
Now I am considering adding that flag to our traveling photographic museum. The exhibit is currently in VA where the Northern Neck Kennel Club displayed the historical war dog photos at a recent show in conjunction with our K9 Veterans Day and they collected many names for our petition. They will now keep the display for this weekend’s regional show in Fredericksburg. And following that event they will move the exhibit to a local library for a few weeks of public viewing. In that area is Fort Lee, and their Quartermaster Corps was the leading body behind the military working dog program of WWII. And their web site has a wealth of historical information about how we used dogs in that war. Anyone interested in renting the display for your upcoming show or event simply needs to contact me to reserve a date. Our logo stickers can also be purchased in bulk from us for you to sell at your event, as they have become quite popular. Sample photos of what the exhibit looks like are currently on the web site www.k9veteransday.org
Many of you are members of clubs and groups, and you will no doubt be having shows and such over the spring and summer. Those are great opportunities to help us get the word out about creating K9 Veterans Day, and they provide the perfect format for gathering signatures for our petition. And now is the time to begin to make plans on how you can honor the dogs next March 13, which by the way is on a Friday. Perhaps this will allow you to do a dinner, show, or whatever, that evening. And I can tell you from recent past experience that the local press will want to report on your activities, as they love the idea that this is about dogs/Veterans. One of our newest supporters is putting together some graphics that you will be able to download for free to use in your promotional materials. These will be along the lines of our logo, and will also be available for use on your computer as wallpaper. I currently have such a thing on this computer.
Another new supporter has written a book about police dogs, telling some of their stories, to include the only dog killed in the Twin Towers collapse. This is a very much needed book, and I can direct you to where you can buy one if you would like. The book is called “Badge on My Collar” by Marilyn Jeffers Walton. Now Marilyn tells me that she basically wrote the book because of the simple fact that so little has been written about these courageous homeland war dogs. I have not yet finished reading the book, but already I know that many of you will want to read it as well.
And you know that fact which inspired Marilyn is the very root of why we are campaigning for K9 Veterans Day. We have had dogs serve our Country with tremendous honor in all of our wars, and yet little is known, or spoken, or written, about their heroics. Why even if a physical memorial to their service is built, it will not get the word out as broadly as an annual day of honor and celebration. Hence I remain more convinced than ever that what we are aiming for will become the single greatest honor that we can bestow upon our war dogs. K9 Veterans Day is going to be the best thing to ever happen to forever honor our beloved dogs, and together we are making it a reality without any fund raising, and no budget for it’s upkeep.
The Doberman Pincher Club of America has declared 2008 as the Centennial of the Doberman Pincher in the United States. The year long celebration, in conjunction with the AKC (who recently mentioned our efforts in their AKC Gazette), will particularly make note of the fact that the Doberman became famous here because of their tremendous service to America during WW II, where they were the dog of choice of the Marine Corps. It is simply a shame that more Americans do not know of their fantastic service on places like Iwo Jima, Guam, and many other battlefields, giving advanced warning about hidden enemy positions, as that service in saving many speaks wonderfully about what a great breed the Doberman is, and how important they were to the Marines they served with during our Nations dark days of war. And we can all thank the DPCA for their support of our efforts for K9 Veterans Day, as they sincerely believe in our mission.
Finally, I wish to thank all of you for what you have already done to push our campaign forward. Why we are only 9 months old, yet much has been accomplished in getting the word out, and laying a solid foundation from which we can advance towards our goal. Of course much work remains for us to accomplish, but I feel very good about where we are, and what lies ahead. One can only imagine what we can do in a whole year with time to plan activities and events. We work for those who have no voice, but the voice that we use for them is growing and spreading, and I encourage you to keep fighting for the dogs, and to fight as though you are in the battle to the glorious end.
Sincerely,
Joe White
Founder, k9veteransday.org
|
|
|
|
3-2-08
Note from webmaster: I apoligize for such a late posting.
Dear Friends of the K9 Veterans Day Campaign,
This is my last report prior to March 13, but make no mistake about it, the effort to make the 13th a Federally recognized day of honor for all the dogs of all our wars will march on for perhaps several years to come.
10 days, 12 hours, and 8 minutes from now it will be the first unofficial K9 Veterans Day. I am being told that one group, the Northern Neck Kennel Club in Virginia, is actually going to kick things off for us on the 8th of March, as they have planned a luncheon to educate humans about the service of war dogs, and to gather signatures for our petition. And not long after the 13th, they are hosting a large show where they will again promote our campaign. Several years ago this same group got their state to recognize the service of war dogs via a proclamation.
And along those same lines, the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs attempted to get their state to make a proclamation of support of March 13 being K9 Veterans Day. Now they did not succeed entirely, and perhaps more success is to come, but they did get war dogs mentioned in the Governor’s annual proclamation on human Veterans Day back in November. And considering the fact that not much has been said about the dogs for most of their honorable history, a mention in the same breath as other Veterans is a victory for the dogs, and worthy of our praise.
Here in Jacksonville our Mayor has declared March 13 as K9 Veterans Day in our city, and I believe that we are the first to do so. Our city is home to military bases, and has a rich history of support for Veterans. And we believe that in WWII dogs patrolled our beaches. And so I am honored that my city is so honoring dog Veterans, and I encourage all of you to follow the lead of Mayor Peyton, and begin the work of getting your town to honor the dogs next year. I personally hope to now enlist the support of our Mayor in reaching those at the State level for an endorsement much like the one that was once done in Virginia, and I know that you can follow this same path beginning with your own Mayor.
Whatever you do this year, be it teaching people about war dogs and gathering petition signatures, or simply flying a flag at your house with a sign about honoring the dogs, please take a picture and send it to me. Pictures are fun for all of us, and they go a long way in encouraging all of us towards planning for next year, which by the way falls on a Friday, and the following year on a Saturday. I sincerely believe that we are making history here, and photos are simply a must in the recording of it. And if what you do makes it onto the news, or into print, please try to share that as well.
If you have not been to our web site k9veteransday.org in a while, you way want to check out the photo area, as we have added photos of our mobile museum. The museum is a collection of text and photos mounted for display to the public, telling some of the history of our war dogs.
And speaking photos, we now have what I believe is an improved sticker. I have attempted to explain about the dog logo being larger and bolder, and the addition of the web site address, but words just don’t seem to paint the picture correctly, so I am going to attempt to paste on a picture of the sticker here and hope for the best.
The actual size is 3 x 5 and I have found that this one is much easier to read from the car behind, and info for the web site gives instant contact information.
Finally, I wish to share a few thoughts regarding where we have come from, and what lies ahead. We can all rejoice because of how far we have come in so short of a time, as we have not yet been campaigning for even a year. I am convinced that such progress is the result of the obvious fact that honoring the dogs with their own special day is simply the right thing to do. And so the growth of support for this campaign is limited only by our ability to get the word out to others, rather than our ability to raise funds, and that ability to share with others is itself growing and giving encouragement for our efforts, making our goal appear quite doable. And we need to remain focused on the fact that getting Washington to do something takes time and persistence. So let this coming March 13 be the beginning of celebrating K9 Veterans Day, and may you be blessed with good weather and good health.
Sincerely,
Joe White
K9veteransday.org
|
|
|
|
January 2008
Dear Fellow Workers for our K9 Veterans
Most of you know that my root in all of this is in the fact that I was with Scout Dogs during the Vietnam War. Interestingly enough, I transferred into the dogs on what was the Chinese “Year of The Dog”. And on the wall above me (our living room) is a banner I retrieved during an early mission with Ebony, and it basically says “Happy New Year, the Year of The Dog”.
Now of course this is not the next such New Year, but I would suggest to you that it is going to be the first ever American year of the War Dog. You see, not too many months ago in 2007 the campaign to create K9 Veterans Day was born. This then will be the first full year of working towards that worthy goal, and so it is that I say in full confidence that 2008 will be the American year of The K9 Veteran. It is destined to be a year where the public will truly be educated about the service of the dogs who protect their freedoms, and it is destined to be the foundation for an everlasting education about the good that all kinds of dogs do, and why they have more than earned a special day of thanks from all of us.
Looking back at 2007 is all good. The campaign began with endless hours of internet searching for possible believers (which of course still goes on), and it began with a computer rookie who made mistakes, and will no doubt make others, but the basic goodness of the idea naturally opened doors, as it surely should. People began to tell others about the campaign, and this is exactly what I believed needed to happened. And so it is that our birth year produced an incredible base of support. It produced a foundation of supporters who believe as we do regarding the need for an official K9 Veterans Day. It is a base of people in position to further promote the campaign via their group, show, literature, and more, and their heart is in the right place right from the start, along with the rest of us who do not belong to a group, but are equally working to honor the dogs.
As I write this, there is exactly 70 days, 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 47 seconds until the first ever unofficial K9 Veterans Day, and I know this because there is a countdown clock on our web site at k9veteransday.org And make no mistake about it, that is not a long time. In fact it is a very short time, and so you truly need to be putting together some sort of plan to celebrate. And I believe that you need to be thinking of participating throughout this coming year at future shows, etc.. But by all means get going on your own special part in this first ever celebration of all the dogs of all our wars. Making a positive and honorable statement of celebration this coming March 13 will set the stage for all the others to come, making it truly something special for you to work towards.
Now everyone knows that interviews and stories for the mass media are tremendously helpful to a campaign such as ours, and so it is very helpful to me when you simply let me know that you live in San Diego, CA, or Jacksonville, FL, or Detroit, MI, etc, as the media loves to do such stories when there are supporters in their area. And quite frankly I believe that it would be great to say that we have supporters in all 50 states. Most of you have simply let me know that you will be supporting the effort, without ever letting me know where you are. I recently went through the supporter list and I did find from the few who volunteered the information, that we have known supporters in 23 states. Hence I cannot help but to believe that we may actually be close to 50 without knowing it. Knowing the extent of the support encourages all of us, so please let me know your basic location soon. This will in no way obligate you to do an interview or anything like that, except in such cases where you desire to participate.
And speaking of the media, I too have “breaking news” for you. However, unlike some of the media, I am only going to report what I can honestly confirm, and so some news regarding additional supporters will have to wait a couple of weeks for confirmation. But I can tell all of you who have been asking me to make stickers of our flag/dog logo, that I bought a few, and I got them in today‘S mail. Just drop me a note if you are interested in getting one.
So thank you one and all for your help in getting things rolling in such a positive way, and now let us together get going to make 2008 the year of The K9 Veteran. Contact your Mayor, your Congressman, your news and radio, and your friends. Make an effort to get names for our petition. And keep on speaking for the dogs and the campaign to honor them with their own - K9 Veterans Day.
Sincerely,
Joe
K9veteransday.org
|
|
