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I never knew the Quartermaster Corps was training

dogs in WWII.

Check out this site with great stories & pics.

I love the story of "Chips" with 3rd ID in Sicily! Click on the "War Dogs"

page for more on these heroic creatures.

http://www.qmfound.com/K-9.htm

Ah, they truly are man's best friend. Arf, arf

Here's a link on our main site:

http://www.uswardogs.org/id24.html

Ah, they truly are man's best friend. Arf, arf

I'll drink to that!

DD

Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, 75 North Central Park Avenue, Hartsdale, New York is home to the War Dog Memorial.

War Dog Memorial

In a letter to its plot-holders dated September 12, 1921 , the Cemetery described the structure to be erected as a “Rustic Boulder executed in the ‘Rock of Ages’ Barre Vermont Granite, surmounted by a heroic statue of a War Dog, Canteen and Helmet in bronze.†The letter further went on to characterize the monument as one “which will live for ages and be a reminder to our posterity of recognition of his (the War Dog’s) invaluable service.â€

Using the finest granite from his own Vermont quarry, Caterson created a majestic ten-foot-high monument with 10 tons of granite, which is topped with a bronze statue of a handsome shepherd dog, wearing a Red Cross blanket. At the shepherd’s feet are a bronze helmet and a canteen. A huge American flag waves proudly above. A simple inscription graces the memorial:

DEDICATED

TO THE MEMORY OF

THE WAR DOG

ERECTED BY PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

BY DOG LOVERS. TO MAN’S MOST

FAITHFUL FRIEND FOR THE VALIANT

SERVICES RENDERED IN THE

WORLD WAR

1914 - 1918.

The War Dog Memorial was erected in 1923. The unveiling was attended by representatives of every nation that fought in the Great War.

The historic sculpture is listed in the art inventories catalog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and is described as follows: “A German Shepherd wearing a Red Cross blanket stands on a rough-hewn boulder. The dog stands in an alert stance with head and ears perked up and tail extended nearly straight. A canteen and helmet lie below the dog’s front paws. The helmet has an indentation, possibly representative of a shrapnel hole.â€

Hartsdale Pet Cemetery is the final resting place for heroic war dogs such as “Chips,†the only American war dog to receive a military decoration on the battlefield for his valor, earning both the purple heart and the silver star. “Chips†served in World War II. During an invasion of Sicily, “Chips†stormed an enemy machine gun pillbox, cornering four soldiers. Later that night he helped capture ten more.

So glad there's such a memorial & resting place for those wonderful dogs!

Thanks for all this info Larry!

I have a special love for German Shepherds. When I was a kid, my

Uncle Joe Howard had two - "Yankee" and "Heidi". I was crazy about

those dogs & remember sleeping over once & using Yankee as a pillow.

My cousin Paddy in Switzerland also has two shepherds (I'm SO jealous!)

and they groom his siamese cat. He sent me a video of it & it's hilarious!

The cat sits on a chair and the dog licks it & bites it's fur as if it were a

puppy. The siamese puts up with it for awhile & then raps the shepherd's

snout to cease & desist.

Gosh they are wonderful dogs & I'd give anything to have one, but I'm

afraid they might be too much for me to handle - especially since

my pets tend to own me instead of the other way round.

Man's Best Friend at Anzio A letter to the editor - World War II Magazine 11-07

A lighter side of combat on the Anzio beachhead: it was a cold moonlit night and I was on my post in the shadows, sitting on a bale of hale, when out of the dark I was knocked over. My rifle and helmet went flying, and when I got myself together I found a dog licking my face. I guess he needed a friend, and I had some C-ration crackers so we both had a snack. When my relief came, the god and I went to my foxhole.

I gave him the name Ed, and things went pretty well until Sgt. Robert Rose came over and told me to get rid of the dog, because if he found Ed in his foxhole again, he would shoot it. Suddenly, all hell broke loose and we all dived into my foxhole. After it was over, Sergeant Roe left but not for long. I wondered what he wanted from me and my poor dog. He showed me a .50-caliber bullet that would have gone through his belly if he'd been in his bed. After that, he said the dog could stay. I even saw him petting Ed at times, so things went OK.

I was sent back to the hospital in Naples, and when I returned I asked Sgt. Oliver C. Owens about Ed. He said Ed jumped out of his jeep and a tank ran over him. What an end!

Stuart F. Kelly

Glen Burnie, MD

That's so sad! That story must be similar to how Sally "found" my Dad

at Anzio. I often wonder what her fate was.

Poor creatures! Reminds you that all of creation suffers in war.

m2

A very small photo I managed to obtain recently.

It's unknown if this dog is a "German" German Shepherd or an "American" German Shepherd though.

Erwin

He looks too sweet, so I am guessing he is an American German Shepard!