Columbia resident and Vietnam veteran, Johnny Mayo raised the funds for this monument to war dogs since 2011. The bronze statue is estimated to weigh 2,000 pounds and was designed and fabricated by Illinois-based artist, Renee Bemis.

From WLTX:

Drafted in 1969, Johnny Mayo was a scout dog handler in the Vietnam War. His role was taking the point in front of the brigade with one of his two dogs during his deployment, Tiger or Kelly. They were his constant companions and many times the saviors of his squad; alerting to a nearby enemy or a trip wire. tiger lost his life when he saved the soldiers behind him when he found a trip wire.

Mayo says, “Of the over 4,000 dogs that served in Vietnam; only 204 dogs survived and were dispatched back to the United States.” But he says, they saved many soldier lives and they should be recognized for their bravery and service. He says, “Where we were doing operations, beginning to the end of the war, there was always the enemy out there in the jungle, so he was trained to detect scent and the trip wires.”

For years, Mayo has educated people on the role of the war dog. But raising funds and building the war dog memorial has been the focus of his life since 2011 when he was approached by the Veterans Memorial Park architect to take the point on the project. So like he had done with his dogs so many times during the war, Mayo took the lead raising awareness and the money to honor the brave dogs he worked with. He says, “They are trained to do what they do, and they are just so heroic just because of the way they served in past even before Vietnam, and to today.”