War dogs in other countries have been awarded medals and other forms of official recognition for serving their countries. Of all of the countries to employ the use and help of dogs during times of war, the United States military stands alone as the only world military to not formally acknowledge the contributions made by its canine soldiers.
Nearly 4000 dogs served in Vietnam and saved up to 10,000 American servicemen. When withdrawing from Vietnam in 1973, the military classified the dogs as surplus equipment to be left behind during evacuation. These dogs were either left behind or killed... Only a handful of these dogs made it back to the United States.
Many servicemen who worked with these dogs were traumatized by having by having to leave their faithful companions behind.