The statue depicts Robert Hartsock, a military dog handler, and his dog, Duke, with their eyes tilted downward as they stare at the names of those who died in battle.

The Bedford County native won the Medal of Honor for saving the life of his commander when he deflected a satchel charge, a demolition device, thrown by an enemy bomber. He died Feb. 23, 1969, in Dau Tieng in Vietnam.

Hartsock lived south of Everett, near the Hewitt Covered Bridge, and graduated from Everett High School in 1962.

Although the statue is of Hartsock and his dog, Dennis Tice, a member of The League of Pretty Good Guys who helped lead the project, said Hartsock is a representation that honors all veterans who served during that era.

William Gary Wolfhope, a Schellsburg native, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War, marked a newly unveiled clay statue of Robert Hartsock and his dog, Duke, with his thumbprint Thursday evening.

“These are people who put their lives on the line,” he said. “They went and served as they were asked to do. It’s a difficult job and sometimes, a thankless job.”

“We don’t think anyone should ever forget those guys who didn’t come back,” he added. “This is to say thank you.”

Tice said the statue cost $135,000 and that about half of that has been raised. Another $65,000 to $75,000 is needed for the rest of the project, which has been funded by local organizations and citizens so far.

The league, whose members are almost all veterans, hopes to have the statue bronzed by next year so that it can join the other war monuments at the Veterans Grove across from the county courthouse.

The statue, crafted by Manns Choice artist Wayne Hyde, stands more than 7 feet tall and will be sent to Bozeman, Mont., for bronze casting.

Jeffrey Wright, who served in the Marine Corps from 1971-79, pressed his thumb into the clay statue commemorating Medal of Honor Recipient Robert Hartsock and his dog, Duke.

Hyde said he began sculpting the statue last March.

The sculptor said he knew so many who served in Vietnam, commenting on how he remembered that time period vividly and how honored he was to do the statue as a way to give back to them.

Veterans who served from 1964-75 lined up in front of the statue Thursday night in anticipation of marking the monument with their thumbprints, posing and smiling for photos beforehand.

One of the veterans who attended the event, Chuck Slick, said he served in Bien Hoa in Vietnam from June to December 1965, providing security on the base as a member of the Air Force.

“It’s quite an honor,” he said of imprinting the statue, adding how blessed he was to be in the air and not on the ground during the war. The 80-year-old Bedford resident noted how happy he is that veterans are receiving the recognition they deserve.

“I really feel that the men and women who have sacrificed their lives are the ones that really need the honor and should be honored everyday,” Slick said. “God bless our veterans and the fact that there’s been so many of them who’ve given so much.”

While Jeffrey Wright, another attendee, wasn’t sent to Vietnam, he said he served in the Marine Corps from 1971-79. At the age of 17, he was slated to go to Vietnam, but instead was sent to the Twenty-nine Palms base in California.

He described the experience of marking the statue of the Medal of Honor recipient and his canine as amazing and unbelievable. Because of the contentious nature of the Vietnam War, Wright described being in the military at that time as sometimes difficult.

William Gary Wolfhope, a Schellsburg native, was another veteran who had the opportunity to leave his mark.

He served in the Army in the Vietnam War from 1966-67. He had joined the Army in November 1965.

As Wolfhope carefully pressed his thumb into the base of the clay statue, ceiling lights beamed down on the Vietnam War Association hat he was wearing.

“Welcome home,” he said to his fellow veterans, a smile on his face.

Mirror Staff Writer Shen Wu Tan is at 946-7457.