50 Years Since the Passing of “Roscoe”

In front of the KABOOM building (Korat Air Base Officers Open Mess), across from Thupatemee Hall at Wing 1, Nakhon Ratchasima, stands a proud statue of a dog.

It is more than just a beloved pet—it is a symbol of loyalty and timeless friendship.

His name was Roscoe.

Roscoe’s story began at Yokota Air Base in Japan.

He was a mixed-breed dog who followed his owner, Lieutenant Colonel Merrill Ray Lewis Jr., an F-105 pilot, wherever he went.

When Lewis was reassigned to Korat in June 1966, Roscoe came along with him.

The name “Roscoe” came from Captain Roscoe Anderson, Lewis’s close friend who was killed in a plane crash at Yokota Air Base.

Lewis named his dog in honor of his fallen comrade—a gesture of remembrance that marked the beginning of a legend of loyalty.

Roscoe never strayed far from Major Lewis. Wherever Lewis went, the dog followed closely, like a shadow. Every time Lewis took off on bombing missions over Vietnam, Roscoe would wait patiently on base, craning his neck toward the runway until his master finally returned.

But one day, tragedy struck. On July 20, 1966, Lewis’s plane was shot down over North Vietnam, and he went missing in action. Roscoe could not understand why his master never came back. That night, he sat waiting in Lewis’s office, then wandered through the barracks, searching behind every door where Lewis might have stayed. He roamed the entire base, holding on to the hope that his beloved master would appear once more.

As the days passed, Roscoe grew gravely ill with heartworm disease.

He stopped eating, no longer played, and simply lay in the very spot where Lewis once sat. The pilots, moved by pity, often stopped by to speak to him gently, trying to tell him the truth—that Lewis would never return—and urging him to eat at least enough to keep himself alive.

Time went on, and then something remarkable began to happen.

Roscoe slowly regained his strength. He started eating again, and before long, he was running around the base once more. Yet, in his eyes there remained a trace of sadness and worry that never quite faded.

From that day on, Roscoe became an integral member of the air base.

He was even given the honorary rank of Colonel, along with special privileges—such as the right to sit in the base commander’s chair. Wherever he wished to go, someone would be there to escort him.

Everyone on base respected and loved this faithful dog.

Roscoe continued to serve as the “guardian of the base,” staying close to generations of young soldiers and pilots.

When the Vietnam War finally came to an end, the American airmen prepared to return home. For Roscoe, too, it was time to say farewell.

He passed away peacefully at Korat Air Base on September 13, 1975.

Throughout his life, Roscoe was never just an ordinary dog.

He became a symbol of love, hope, and loyalty. He waited for his master with unwavering devotion—until his final breath, when at last, one might say he was reunited with him.

Roscoe remains a legend, reminding us of a love and loyalty that needs no words—only the heart can truly understand such a bond.

…And for anyone who has the chance to stand before Roscoe’s statue at the entrance of KABOOM, the Korat Air Base Officers Open Mess, they will surely feel the presence of that enduring loyalty and the greatness of a friendship that will never fade.

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