Service - Robert T Bechdoldt

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Robert Bechdoldt, Army's last official farrier

He had retired in 1967 as the last farrier on the U.S. Army payroll, having taken care of the Army's mules and horses for twenty years. After retiring, he started the Kansas Horseshoeing School in Girard, KS, where he lived at the time of his death. His school offered a 12-week courses to students from all over the world on his 200-acre farm.
While serving in the U.S. Army, Sgt. Bechdoldt shod the horses for the U. S. Olympic equestrian team in 1948. He also maintained the hooves of the Army's caisson team at Arlington National Cemetery. Black Jack, the riderless horse at the head of John F. Kennedy's funeral procession, was one of his charges. Another was Wind River, the last Army pack mule, who died recently at age 46. He was also an animal pack transportation instructor for the Marines and went to Vietnam with the Green Berets.

The Free Lance-Star - Thursday, Dec 13, 1979 (Fredericksburg, VA) p. 27