My dear friend Carl Furtado, 36th Engineer, sent me his diary from the war this morning. While reading an excerpt from the Sicilian Campaign, I ran across an entry from mid July. Takes place in the city of Licata.

"...I have adopted a puppy. She is all white with one brown ear and looks like a fox terrier. Have named her Chalky..."

Chalky's photos are a few posts above.

In my wall of documentaries on WWII I have seen so many cases of kind GI's who have adopted homeless dogs in the war zone and kept them from harm's way to the extent that they were able to. It is in these scenes that you are able to see what I would call the true spirit of American Soldiers and Marines. I have seen German soldiers with dogs too, in all fairness, but never the Japanese, unless they were preparing to eat them.

Dogdaddy

In my wall of documentaries on WWII I have seen so many cases of kind GI's who have adopted homeless dogs in the war zone and kept them from harm's way to the extent that they were able to. It is in these scenes that you are able to see what I would call the true spirit of American Soldiers and Marines. I have seen German soldiers with dogs too, in all fairness, but never the Japanese, unless they were preparing to eat them.

Dogdaddy

Remember seeing some film from WW11 OF A a sailor, during D-Day ?,with a tiny puppy in a May West ?

Remember seeing some film from WW11 OF A a sailor, during D-Day ?,with a tiny puppy in a May West ?

Hi Moose! Yes I remember seeing it, and now I will go nuts until I figure out which DVD it's on Right off hand I think it might be on a tape from the History Channel's "The Color of War,"

DD

Dogs attaching themselves to soldiers is nothing new. There are two monuments in Gettysburg with dogs on them. One of them features a dog named Sally that got seperated from her unit during the heat of battle, but that night found the dying on the field. She stayed with them through the night. She was killed by shrapnel in a later battle. When it came time to place a monument at Gettysburg, the survivors placed a cast statue of Sally on the back of the monument. Every time I've been there over the years, there is always a biscuit for her on the monument....

Marion looked at it, thanks. I haven't finished my diaries yet, but it always had bothered me that I didn't know what happen to Chalky when I left her behind to load on a LST for the landing in France. On other landings I would leave her with the rear echelon units that would come in after the landing and she would the join me. When I checked with my buddy Tony Stefanelli, I heard this story. On all the other landings the ship captain or who ever was in command would let the GI's bring their dogs aboard. But, on this one when had a lot of African troops who were trying to bring animals aboard,sheep, goats, etc and they, the powers to be, said that no animals were to board the ships for France. So, poor Chalky was left in Italy and I just hope that nothing bad happen to her. She was not only my dog, but also the company dog and everyone looked after her when I couldn't.

You can post this if you want.

Hugs,

Carl