Whether you knew him as Dan, Skydog, or Sarge, this is a place to share your stories.
1 Comment
Bob Whitchurch
on February 20, 2015 at 5:46 pm
I have so many wonderful memories of him, too many to share here, but I would like to share a few that have kept me laughing after all these years:
It must have been around 1993 when I first met Skydog. I had just joined the Army National Guard and was going to forward observer school. Skydog was one of three of us. Me and the other guy were former Navy squids. Skydog was the only Army guy in our trio. We were all Sergeants. We would travel to Pasadena and meet the rest of the class who were all from the Los Angeles area. They always referred to us as “the three Navy guys” from San Diego. One time Skydog mentioned to us, “They call us the ‘three Navy guys.’ I WAS NEVER IN THE NAVY!!”
During one of our two week stints at Camp Roberts we were doing morning PT (physical training). After the calisthenics portion was over they turned us loose, telling us to do whatever exercise we wanted. Skydog and I decided to go for a run. Nice and slow. We ended up getting back to the barracks well before anyone else. One of the more senior Sergeants started yelling at us because he thought we had cut out of PT early. We told him we went for a run and he yelled, “RUNNING IS NOT PART OF PT!!!” Then he stormed off. Dan looked at me and said, “Running isn’t part of PT? I think I’ve heard all I want to hear.”
I think you kinda have to be in the military to understand this one and it might not be one of the nicest things that he ever said, but it was funny given the context of it all. One morning we were at Camp Roberts eating in the chow hall. I can’t remember which meal it was, but it’s not important. We were crammed into a small bungalow. I mean we were CRAMMED in there. We were elbow to elbow and back to back sitting at the tables. It was mostly full of cooks and infantry soldiers. Skydog looked around and said (loud enough for those around us to hear), “Who joins the Army to be a cook? Are these people too dumb to be Infantry?”
One Veteran’s Day I volunteered to be in a parade in San Diego. I was riding in an M60 tank and I found out later that Skydog was marching with the Vietnam Veterans. What an honor it was for me to have been in the same Veteran’s Day parade as him.
I moved out of San Diego in 1996 and, not sure why, I just never kept in touch with him save for one phone call after I moved. I ended up moving a lot after 1996, maybe I was just too busy to keep in touch. Whatever the reason, it was my loss not his.
I just recently told my wife I was going to look for him and try to get back in touch with him. The internet makes the world much smaller and now it’s easy to find people. I was devastated when I found this site and learned he had passed.
I was fortunate to know him as Dan, Skydog, and Sarge. I always called him Skydog. He has the coolest name out of everyone I know and it was fun just to say it. I can tell you with sincere honesty that all those miserable weeks we spent at Camp Roberts were made much easier because he was there. He’s one of those guys who is just easy to like and always fun to be around. He was like the fire that all us moths fluttered around.
I miss you Skydog. I’m sorry I never kept in touch. And it is my honor to share the title “veteran” with you.
I have so many wonderful memories of him, too many to share here, but I would like to share a few that have kept me laughing after all these years:
It must have been around 1993 when I first met Skydog. I had just joined the Army National Guard and was going to forward observer school. Skydog was one of three of us. Me and the other guy were former Navy squids. Skydog was the only Army guy in our trio. We were all Sergeants. We would travel to Pasadena and meet the rest of the class who were all from the Los Angeles area. They always referred to us as “the three Navy guys” from San Diego. One time Skydog mentioned to us, “They call us the ‘three Navy guys.’ I WAS NEVER IN THE NAVY!!”
During one of our two week stints at Camp Roberts we were doing morning PT (physical training). After the calisthenics portion was over they turned us loose, telling us to do whatever exercise we wanted. Skydog and I decided to go for a run. Nice and slow. We ended up getting back to the barracks well before anyone else. One of the more senior Sergeants started yelling at us because he thought we had cut out of PT early. We told him we went for a run and he yelled, “RUNNING IS NOT PART OF PT!!!” Then he stormed off. Dan looked at me and said, “Running isn’t part of PT? I think I’ve heard all I want to hear.”
I think you kinda have to be in the military to understand this one and it might not be one of the nicest things that he ever said, but it was funny given the context of it all. One morning we were at Camp Roberts eating in the chow hall. I can’t remember which meal it was, but it’s not important. We were crammed into a small bungalow. I mean we were CRAMMED in there. We were elbow to elbow and back to back sitting at the tables. It was mostly full of cooks and infantry soldiers. Skydog looked around and said (loud enough for those around us to hear), “Who joins the Army to be a cook? Are these people too dumb to be Infantry?”
One Veteran’s Day I volunteered to be in a parade in San Diego. I was riding in an M60 tank and I found out later that Skydog was marching with the Vietnam Veterans. What an honor it was for me to have been in the same Veteran’s Day parade as him.
I moved out of San Diego in 1996 and, not sure why, I just never kept in touch with him save for one phone call after I moved. I ended up moving a lot after 1996, maybe I was just too busy to keep in touch. Whatever the reason, it was my loss not his.
I just recently told my wife I was going to look for him and try to get back in touch with him. The internet makes the world much smaller and now it’s easy to find people. I was devastated when I found this site and learned he had passed.
I was fortunate to know him as Dan, Skydog, and Sarge. I always called him Skydog. He has the coolest name out of everyone I know and it was fun just to say it. I can tell you with sincere honesty that all those miserable weeks we spent at Camp Roberts were made much easier because he was there. He’s one of those guys who is just easy to like and always fun to be around. He was like the fire that all us moths fluttered around.
I miss you Skydog. I’m sorry I never kept in touch. And it is my honor to share the title “veteran” with you.
Bob