Fort Benton, Mont., paid tribute to a different kind of war veteran on Veterans Day.

A memorial was dedicated to the more than 4,000 military working dogs that served in the Vietnam War. According to The Associated Press, the memorial was a collaboration of American Legion Post 26 Adjutant Ron Saville and George F. Conklin, post commander. Both men were dog handlers.

The Great Falls Tribune reported that the granite memorial reads: "In memory of the over 4,000 U.S. military working dogs that served in the Vietnam War. When the war was over, these dogs were left behind in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia."

Col. John Probist, a dog handler between 1971 and 1981, attended the memorial ceremony, the newspaper reported.

"When you talk to dog handlers, they can name all their dogs and tell you about the relationships and bonds that formed between them," Probist told the Great Falls Tribune.

Conklin told the AP that dogs and their handlers saved an estimated 10,000 lives in Vietnam, including his own. He also told the AP that most of the dogs were left behind because of concern they would bring disease back to the United States.