Woodstock the Sentry Pig
March 1972

          While at Vinh Long the company pet was a dog named "Pistol" who accompanied us to Long Binh Post. During the March convoy to Long Binh Post SGT Carl Singleton purchased a Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pig from a roadside vendor and it became our second pet.

        The MP’s built it a pen in the company area and named it 'Woodstock.' A conflict arose when LTC Hammacker, Battalion Commander, pushed me to enforce the one pet per company regulation. To legally circumvent the regulation I issued a company order designating Woodstock as a working animal, a Sentry Pig, and moved his pen next to the company ammunition bunker that was also close to the mess hall where he was very happy.

        The incident didn't do much for my career. It wasn’t to long before Woodstock became fat and I had to concede to the regulation. The company gave Woodstock to the Vietnamese refugees who were kind enough to wait until after we left before they promptly ate him.

CPT David O. Wright, Commanding Officer, B Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, Vietnam, October 1971 to June 1972.