Chips Here is an excerpt from a post on my blog. There is a bunch more there about the K-9 corps. The top canine hero of World War II was Chips, a German Shepherd who served with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. Trained as a sentry dog, Chips broke away from his handlers and attacked an enemy machine gun nest in Italy, forcing the entire crew to surrender. The wounded Chips was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and the Purple Heart–all of which were later revoked due to an Army policy preventing official commendation of animals. You can read more about this remarkable program from the following resources: The Quartermaster K-9 Corps by MAJ Kevin Born
Another dog was Dick, a scout dog donated by Edward Zan of New York City. Dick was cited for working with a Marine Corps patrol in the Pacific Area. This dog not only discovered a camouflaged Japanese bivouac but alerted soldiers to the only occupied hut among five. Dick’s alert preceded a surprise attack which resulted in annihilation of the enemy without a single Marine casualty.
I don't know if you've seen this before Ferhilt .... but I'm posting just in case !! War Dogs - U.S Army's use of dogs 1942-Present Annie
and these ..... YouTube - War Dog Tribute U.S. War Dogs Memorial located in Holmdel, N.J. YouTube - United States War Dogs Memorial Unveiling
Everyone, take a bow. This has been a great thread about our animal hero's. As an animal lover, I have enjoyed reading all the stories that the members have put on the thread and I hope there is more to come. :hi:
I found another good one about the first therapy dog on record: Veteran's dog was a loved mascot for unit during WWII
Found this knocking around in my puter (don't ask) A Tale of a Cat and a Ship H.M.S. Woolston spent a lot of the war on convoy duty, running almost daily between her home base of Rosyth and Harwich she offered protection against the German E-boats which, with their powerful Mercedes-Benz engines, were the scourge of the North Sea. One day, docked in Rosyth, a young cat had the misfortune to fall into the harbour alongside Woolston. Lucky for her she was seen and rescued by one of the ship’s crew. Very much the worse for wear - sea water is not good for cats - she was liberally dosed with rum and bedded down in the engine room. An anxious night for the crew saw our cat part with at least one of her nine lives as she hovered on the brink and prayers were offered up. The dawn brought a marked improvement and as the day progressed the Woolston found herself with a new crew member - E-Boat- I kid you not, the cat was named E-Boat. She spent the war in the engine room, only allowed the run of the ship when she was in harbour. Believing E-boat may be pining for feline company some members of the crew kidnapped the well fed tom belonging to the local butcher on one of their infrequent spells of shore leave and took him as a companion for E-Boat. But that tom was not made for life on the ocean waves and he suffered from sea sickness, with the result that the first ship they met bound for home was charged with the return of the tom cat to its owner who never did know of his pet’s adventures on the high seas. E-Boat was there to see the German surrender in Bergen and when the Woolston returned to Great Britain, her war over, E-Boat went ashore in the care of one of the Petty Officers to live her life out ashore.
Not sure if they are still keeping up with this site .... but theres some interesting stuff on here ! War-Dogs.com Annie
Animal pictures I've been working on a new image gallery to help expedite the uploading of my image collection. I went through and pulled out all the images I could find of animals (I only included the ones that were still alive :cc_rip: ) *I'm still working the kinks out of the gallery, so you may have to refresh a page or two to get it to work. Animals
I don't know if you'd be interested in this Ferhilt ... or if this is your area of research - but this is the Australian nominal roll ! Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans Annie
The K9 pictured is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord. He's huge - part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture. Brutus is running toward me because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he's slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn't stop, but he did. Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant 'go away but come back and find me'. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He's the first K9 to receive this honor. If he knows you're ok, he's a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap. Enjoys the company of cats. K-9 Congressional Medal of Honor Winner Thought you'd find this interesting. Talk about animal intelligence and bonding with humans! Remember that they can't do a lot of things for themselves and that they depend on you to make their life a quality life! A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS......... 1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful. 2. Give me time to understand what you want of me. 3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being. 4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you. 5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me. 6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it. 7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you. 8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak. 9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old. 10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so. ~Take a moment today to thank God for your pets. Enjoy and take good care of them. Life would be a much duller, less joyful experience without God's critters ~Now please pass this on to other pet owners. We do not have to wait for Heaven, to be surrounded by hope, love, and joyfulness. It is here on earth and has four legs!
Gee, I would hate to have BRUTUS as an enemy. I loved the Pet's 10 Commandments. It makes you stop and think if you do any of those things to your pet. John
I remembered in my collection of photographs from Vietnam that there was a couple of a dog. This is Specialist 4 Davey Clark and "Rocky" of the 38th Scout Dog Platoon in Cu Chi searching for VC positions on an operation with 1/5th Mechanized Infantry south of Cu Chi base camp.
