America’s forgotten heroes By Becky Ginos | becky.g@davisjournal.com LAYTON—Alongside the Vietnam Memorial Wall replica at Layton Commons Park stands a statue of a dog. It’s not just any dog – it’s a “War Dog.” “The dogs were used for narcotics or bomb detection,” said Linda Crismer who along with her husband Jim owned Mazzie, the model for the memorial. “Mazzie served in Kuwait for five years. We had him for five years and he died on April 21 of this year.” CWD (Contract Working Dog) Mazzie NDD (Narcotics Detection Dog) was the German Shepard’s official title, said Linda. The couple adopted him from Mission K9 rescue, an organization that brings War Dogs home. “I’d been teaching at Bountiful Elementary for 40 years,” she said. “I used a lot of dog related things in my classroom and told the children about War Dogs. When I announced I was retiring the kids said ‘you ought to get one because you’ll have nothing to do.’” So the Crismers looked into adopting through Mission K9 rescue. “It took about 15 months to get him,” Linda said. “They wanted to make sure he’d fit into our home. They check the dogs out mentally and physically. They’re very careful with how they adopt animals out.” Many of the dogs are mistreated during the war and most never come home, she said.
“Mazzie weighed 60 lbs and was starving to death. He was very traumatized. We had a trainer who gave us advice about helping Mazzie. We don’t know what happened to him but the trainer said he’s the most mentally damaged dog he’d seen.” Mazzie became the favorite as Jim and Linda took him to parades and veterans celebrations. “The kids would holler, ‘Hi Mazzie,’” said Linda. “He touched the lives of everyone he met. One time we were at Cabela’s and a man came up to us and asked if Mazzie was a War Dog. Then he got on his knees and held Mazzie’s head and said, ‘Buddy I know what it’s like to be in a foreign country and have people hate you. But your mom and dad will give you a great life.’ We knew then that we were onto something.” The statue came about when the Crismers took Mazzie to the Sounds of Freedom car show in Layton. “The veterans invited us to their meetings,” Linda said. “When they decided to do a memorial for the War Dogs they wanted Mazzie to be the model and asked us to run the project.” The Crismers became so involved with War Dogs that they adopted another one, 8-year-old Geli who also served in Kuwait for four years. “We bring them home and give them a good life for the second half of their
The War Dog statue stands in Layton Commons Park near the Vietnam Memorial Wall replica. It honors dogs who served but never came home. Photo by Becky Ginos
life.” The memorial is dedicated to all War Dogs that served. “It is to honor especially those that served in Vietnam,” said Linda. “They say those 5,000 dogs probably saved
10,000 lives in Vietnam. There were 4,500 dogs abandoned. The statue is to honor and remember the dogs that did their job but never came back.” l
Barlow – the ‘father’ of education gives lifetime of service By Becky Ginos | becky.g@davisjournal.com LAYTON—Haven J. Barlow, a tireless supporter of education, was honored last month with a new parkway entrance at the WSU Davis campus dedicated in his name. Barlow, waving from a purple Tesla, rode down the parkway and broke through a ribbon as part of the ceremony. The 99-year-old’s impact on education in the state and county is immeasurable. As a legislator for 42 years, not only was Barlow instrumental in getting the funding to buy the land the Davis campus sits on, he helped in transitioning Weber State into a four year institution and then a university. “It was a real miracle that we got that 100 acres,” said Barlow. “I tried to get that 100 acres through the appropriation committee but it failed. I was very disappointed. On the last day of the legislature and my last day in the Senate, the one thing I wanted was that 100 acres of land.” The last couple of days of the session they've already taken care of the major bills, he said. “Sometimes bills that don’t get passed the money goes back into the general fund. The Senate President said that leftover money is yours.” Some legislators don’t even bother reading the bills, said Barlow. “I was afraid somebody would ask a question about what this $1 million appropriation is. But then the Senate President said ‘It’s time to adjourn, oh and incidentally we haven’t passed one bill, all in favor say I’ and it passed. That was absolutely a miracle.” Barlow served in the Utah Legislature from 1953-1995. “I served for 42 years,” he said. “That’s longer than anybody’s ever served in the Utah Legislature by far.” During his tenure, he also pushed to have every legislator serve on an appropriations committee. “We’re the only
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state in the nation where everybody in the legislature has a committee assignment,” said Barlow. “It’s made a great difference. Before you had to wait six to seven years to get on that committee. It wasn’t fair. They’re all elected and everybody should be on the same level.” Barlow was the main sponsor in the legislature to move Weber State from a two year college to a four year university. “It should have been four years before,” he said. “It was sort of for sentimental reasons. My mother taught there for a couple of years. She was killed in an automobile accident. She was only 25 and had me and my brother. I thought I ought to do something in her name so I set up a scholarship for students worthy of recognition.” He was also instrumental in getting Davis Tech off the ground and into what it is today. “I’m so pleased that we have a tech school,” Barlow said. “There’s Davis Tech and Ogden/Weber tech. It’s amazing how many schools have started and yet they’re all full.” Barlow was also involved in building the causeway to Antelope Island. “People had a hard time realizing how important Antelope Island is,” he said. “We needed money to build a causeway and that was money that could be put into education but we needed people to come to our state.” Despite not having the funding, Barlow and others decided to start building it anyway. “We got about six to seven miles done,” he said. “Once we got that finished there was only about a mile left to go. The county pitched in a little bit. That was exciting. Now people could come from out of state to see the causeway. I’m proud to be a part of getting that causeway built.”
Haven Barlow waves as he drives by in a purple Tesla for the dedication of the new parkway entrance at the WSU Davis campus named in his honor. Courtesy photo
Barlow will turn 100 on Jan. 4, 2022 and still has a good outlook on life. “I think we’re closer together as a people,” he said. “Never in my lifetime were people able to experience what they have now. It’s a peaceful world. That’s a great blessing that we didn’t have to go through World War III. We have our problems – there’s no question about it – but young people are coming along.” At the dedication, WSU President Brad Mortensen said Barlow once told him to “plant trees that give shade we will never be in. If you live to be 100, you’ll get to do that.” l
Kaysville | Fruit Heights City Journal
