FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex’s Military Police Corps Museum unveiled a new exhibit Nov. 9, 2026, dedicated to military working dog handlers, known as 31K, and their dogs.
For Amanda Webb, U.S. Army Military Police Corps Regimental Museum curator, it was a special occasion because this was the first exhibit to open when she was the curator.
“So, this is a big deal to me because this is a love letter to the 31Ks,” she said. “For the last 15 years, the only exhibit in the Military Police Corps Museum’s gallery that spoke to working dog teams was dedicated to the Vietnam Soldiers that served as sentry dog handlers in the MP Corps.”
Webb said she wanted to tell the story of how the military occupational specialty of 31K has evolved from its roots going back to the Dogs for Defense program in WWII, to the “expansive” branch today.
“The methods and diverse training that they provide today have evolved from the sentry style dog of Vietnam,” Webb said. “I was not aware of how diverse that training was until we started leaning in and looking at more current and modern approaches to K-9 use in the Army.”
She said the project kicked off three years ago after a Soldier who attended one of her classes approached her and indicated an interest in donating some pieces to the museum.
“Over the past three years, we have been gathering as we went and as other 31Ks learned what we were doing, they started offering pieces of their history and their dog’s history,” Webb said.
One of those MWD handlers was Sgt. Parker Prewitt with the 180th Military Police Detachment who was at the unveiling to see items he had donated along with other items in the exhibit.
“I’ve been talking to the people at the museum for months,” Prewitt said. “They’ve come to the kennels multiple times, and we have donated multiple items that are in here. They have been super excited about it, and we are super excited about it.”
“Seeing all the (exhibit’s) detail and seeing so much explanation on what everything is and what people can learn from it is super important to me as a dog handler,” he added.
Webb said she has talked to hundreds of Soldiers like Prewitt since work on the exhibit began.
“I talked to almost 240 dog handlers either in person, by email or by phone sharing their dog, photographs, artifacts and explaining things to me I may not understand as I’m doing research learning about the military working dog program,” she said.
It was during this journey of exploration into the military working dog world that the meaning behind the exhibit began to change for Webb.
“I’ve spoken to dog handlers going back to Vietnam to present day and I am so humbled and honored to be telling their story because what I discovered is that every single handler didn’t care if they were recognized, they cared if their dog was recognized,” Webb said.
Her discovery proved the exhibit was more than just a display of artifacts and photographs.
“I hope you see what our mission is throughout that exhibit and that is to talk about the team because the team does not exist without that K-9, and that team doesn’t exist without that handler who dedicates themselves to that dog,” she said.
Another handler Webb spoke to was retired Sgt. 1st Class Charles Birchard. Birchard was a specialist when he served as a sentry dog handler with the 981st MP Company in Vietnam. A donor to the new exhibit, he attended the event and echoed Webb’s sentiment about the bond between a handler and their dog.
“It was Vietnam, and a war was going on, and it was a dangerous area but still I had the same dog, and I grew very attached to it,” he said.
Birchard, who completed basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood in 1968, and then retired at the fort in 1993, said he was honored to have his dog Chipper displayed in the new exhibit.
“I’m so grateful to Mandy and I told her so,” he said. “To put my dog’s photo on the wall and to exhibit his collar and to know that my dog, the only one I had during my tour, will be remembered.”
The MWD exhibit may be viewed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday in the John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex located at 14296 S. Dakota Ave. The complex is closed Sunday, Monday and federal holidays.
Social Sharing