Vietnam veteran
The monument was conceived by John C. Burnam, author and Vietnam veteran infantryman and German shepherd scout dog handler from 1966-1968). In February 2004, Burnam founded the John Burnam Monument Foundation to design, fund, build, and maintain a Military Working Dog Teams National Monument. Joining John Burnam were U.S. Air Force Vietnam veteran security/patrol dog handlers, Richard Deggans and Larry Chilcoat.