Paws in war: Nemo A534

On one occasion, Airman Throneburg and Sentry Dog Nemo were patrolling near a graveyard on Tan Son Nhut Airbase on the night of December 4, 1966, when Nemo alerted Throneburg to a group of hidden VC.

“On guard,” said Airman Throneburg. The dog’s muscles tensed for action, “Attack!”  Nemo lunged forward into the enemy’s hiding place. Airman Throneburg was following close behind. In the ensuing battle, Nemo lost an eye after being shot. A bullet had entered under his right eye and had exited through his mouth.

In the first moments of the encounter, Airman Throneburg and Nemo killed two of the VC. But, before additional security police could reach them, Airman Throneburg was wounded in the left shoulder and he spun around from the force of the bullet and was wounded again in the right shoulder.

Despite his severe injuries, Nemo saved the life of his handler by covering Throneburg’s body with his own. The dog viciously snarled and barked, protecting his handler against anyone who dared approach until medical assistance arrived.

The bravery shown by the pair prevented further loss of life and destruction of property at Tan Son Nhut.

Airman Robert Throneburg received two Purple Hearts with the V for valor (BSV). Nemo, in one of the first K-9 units, retired with honor and was redeployed to the United States of America.

Due to his heroic actions, Nemo was returned to Lackland Air Force Base in the United States where he was given a permanent retirement kennel. He continued working as a recruitment dog and died in December 1972 at Lackland where his memorial kennel and stone in his honour stand today.

*A note from the author: Although I do use Wikipedia as my “point of reference” in my series “Paws in Wars”, I carefully re write any pre existing material to ensure that I am not guilty of plagiarism.

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