Joe Gajewski has had great companions in his life, but now he travels alone.
The South Philly resident was an Army Sentry Dog Handler in the 1960s and later worked in a police K-9 unit. Now, he dedicates his time to visiting memorials that honor those types of four-legged service friends.
“It’s a proven fact that these service dogs have served thousands and thousands of lives,” Gajewski said from his home near Marconi Plaza. “Vietnam, Afghanistan, World War II, you name it.”
Gajewski became an admirer of service dogs. And following the passing of his wife, Anna, about 10 years ago, Gajewski decided to make a list of war dog memorials he would like to visit. War dogs have performed services such as patrolling, search-and-rescue operations, sniffing out explosives and track down adversaries back to the source of an ambush or IED detonation.
“I got more and more involved on the computer,” Gajewski said. “I tried contacting some guys I was in the Army with. I found this one website for Vietnam Dog Handlers Association and I became a non-combat member. Through them, I found the US War Dogs Association. I got involved and I started seeing all these memorials. I decided to make it my bucket list to visit as many as I can.”
Gajewski recently returned from Colorado Springs, which marked his 15th visit to a War Dog Memorial across the country. Some are shorter drives like Holmdel, New Jersey and Bristol Township in Bucks County. Others required a bit more planning like Ohio, Georgia and Tennessee.
“I started branching out,” Gajewski said. “About two years ago, I hit four of them on one trip. I went to (King, Pikesville and Fayetteville) in North Carolina and one in Columbia, South Carolina. And at a few of them, I met up with members of the organization.”
It’s Gajewski’s simple way of saying thank you to dogs like 607X, better known as “Nick”, a young German Shepherd whom he teamed up with from 1965-1967. Gajewski had been drafted into the Army just shy of his 22nd birthday during the Vietnam War and received a stroke of luck when he was assigned his military occupational specialty (MOS).
“I became a dog handler actually by accident,” said Gajewski, a Bayonne, New Jersey native who moved to Philadelphia at age 11. “We were going through the line and they were telling us what our MOS was going to be. The guy sitting on the other side of the desk says you’re supposed to be a forward observer. I would have been right between us and the enemy with a radio and a pair of binoculars, calling in air support and artillery support. I’m thinking that doesn’t sound good. He said, ‘Hey, you like dogs?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said he would change my MOS to sentry dog handler. He said there’s a good chance I won’t be going to Vietnam.”
He was right. Instead of being stationed on the front lines in the jungles of Vietnam, Gajewski was paired up with a pup stateside and guarded missile sites in Georgia and Maryland. He trained Nick at Lackland Air Force Base in obedience and attack to help guard important sites.
“He was a great dog,” Gajewski said. “I worked 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every other day. Rain or shine, cold and snow, we were there. I would lock that gate and no one would get in. We had a good relationship.”
Gajewski left the Army after two years but Nick remained.
“I tried to figure out what happened to him,” Gajewski said. “I called Lackland and I finally got his DD214. It’s a final discharge. He was turned over to someone else who worked with him and he was euthanized when he was 7 years old. German Shepherds were known for bad hips.”
Gajewski had two dog partners over five years working for the K-9 unit in the Fairmount Park Guard, which became the Fairmount Park Police, and was eventually absorbed into the Philadelphia Police Department.
First there was Garrett, who was discharged after hearing issues. Then there was Lance who was a longtime companion. Both provided great company. Gajewski even had a personal dog named Pugsly, a Shih Tzu that lived to age 16. His love for dogs has led him on a journey that will soon take him to Herkimer, New York and possibly other spots in Florida, Alabama, Wisconsin and Michigan. He’s also a supporter of the Military Working Dog Heritage Museum.
“It’s hard when you walk into a strange restaurant and ask for a table for one,” Gajewski admitted. “But by doing this for the dogs, I don’t feel bad because I also meet up with some people.”
Although he travels solo, Gajewski is never really alone. As they say in his former department, “The K-9 leads the way.”
