by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Mar 15, 2022 | Animal Stories (mostly Dogs in the Military)
There were no fewer than 57 dogs named Duke enlisted in the Marine Corps in World War II. One of them was awarded the Dickin Medal for service in Normandy. But the Dog Record Books in the National Archive show that gun shyness was a real problem, washing out roughly a...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Sep 19, 2020 | Animal Stories (mostly Dogs in the Military)
Edward Burckhardt was one of the Marines that landed on Iwo Jima in February 1945. Iwo Jima was a Japanese held island in the Pacific theater of WWII. Burckhardt found a kitten on the battlefield at the base of Mount Suribachi near the landing beaches. Mount Suribachi...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Feb 28, 2020 | Animal Stories (mostly Dogs in the Military)
“Cappy” was a Doberman used by the Marines in the liberation of Guam in 1944. It wasn’t certain that Cappy would ever make it as a war dog, as the notes made by his trainers in the U.S. warned future handlers “this dog is gun shy. Not fit for combat duty … Be...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Dec 10, 2019 | Animal Stories (mostly Dogs in the Military)
After the events set forth in my Kurt the Doberman blog, the Marines declared Guam secure after three weeks of fighting in 1944. But some 8,000 Japanese soldiers remained, hidden in the jungle. The war dogs were asked to find them. “That’s the worst fighting you can...
by kramoltz@hotmail.com | Nov 15, 2019 | Animal Stories (mostly Dogs in the Military)
Kurt was a Doberman that landed on Guam in WWII on July 23, 1944. The next day Kurt led Marines climbing the hill above the beachhead. It was a crucial moment, as the Americans were trying to secure a foothold on the island. Kurt set out, zigzagging in front of the...