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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 03/25/2003 5:27:46 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Dogs crossed the Alps with Hannibal, they marched with Ceasar's Legions and even the Crusaders had their Mastiffs!  On the Bougainville campaign, probably the most famous of the dogs was Caesar (one of the German Shepherds). During the time that "M" Company, 3rd Raider Battalion was holding a road block on the Piva Trail, Caesar made nine runs between the road block and the Battalion Command Post when lines were out and radios would not carry in the heavy jungle. Caesar was wounded on the third day when, during the early morning, he attacked a Jap who was in the act of shoving a hand grenade into the foxhole of his handler's, PFC Rufus Mayo (Caesar's other handler was PFC John K. Kleenman). Jack, a three year old Belgian Shepherd whose handlers were PFC Gorgon J. Wortman and PFC Paul J. Castracane, also acquitted himself bravely- getting through with a message to send stretcher bearers immediately, a vital message since all telephone lines had been cut. Jack made the run in spite of being shot in the back. Rex, a two-year-old Doberman scout dog forewarned his group of Marines of the presence of Japs during the night. They were ready and waiting when the attack came at dawn and successfully repelled it! Rex was handled by PFC William N. Hendrickson and PFC Charles Foist.  Another scout dog, a four year old Doberman named Otto, while working ahead of a reconnaissance patrol, warned the Marines of a Jap machine gun position located 100 yards away. This gave the Marines time to disperse and take cover before the machine gun opened fire. The two handlers were PVT Martin R. Troup and PFC Henry L. Demault. While the Raiders used only the scout and message dogs, there were other uses of dogs in the military during World War II. Sentry attack dogs were used with the Coast Guard. The Casualty dogs were trained to find wounded military personnel in debris and heavy cover. The wire laying dogs were used to lay communication wire from a spool or spindle attached to their back or side. The pack dogs useful in northern and mountainous areas were capable of transporting small amounts of ammo and medical supplies. Sled dogs were also used to some extent by our ski troops.  Concerning the selection and procurement, the Planning and Policies Division of Marine Corps Headquarters summarized the reasoning behind the use of dogs with this statement: "Dogs are weapons. They are used because they give our men added power of observation through their acute sense of smell and hearing." All dogs were voluntarily offered by their owners and before acceptance were given careful examinations. The animal had to weigh at least 50 pounds, be at least 20" at the shoulder and not be less than one year or more than five years old. The dog's temperament could not be overly aggressive or too shy. On the messenger dogs, the message was carried in the small first aid pouch that was attached to the dog's collar. All dogs were issued a leather leash, a choke chain and a leather muzzle. Marine ingenuity came into plan when lowering their dogs from ship rail to landing craft. They simply put a Marine fatigue jacket backward on the dog, inserting his front legs through the rolled up sleeves, buttoning the collar backwards around his neck by the first three buttons and then tying the remainder of the jacket in a knot and affixing the light linthrough and around the knot. This resulted in a comfortable and secure vest or sling which the dog accepted stoically during the lowering into the Higgins boats where his other handler waited.  No dog tags were issued (pun intended) but all dogs were tattooed on the inside of the ear, and all had military record books much like their Marine Handlers. The dogs of 1st Marine War Dog Platoon endeared themselves to the Raiders during the Bougainville action. After this operation the Raiders were destined to be disbanded and be reformed into the 4th Marine Regiment. Here, once again, the former Raiders, while en route to the Island of Japan via Guam and Okinawa, would come in contact with their Devil Dogs. By Van D. Shurts. 4CP If there can be halcyon days in a war, I guess we had ours on Guam in 1944. Battle halcyon days. We had whipped the Japanese something pitiful, and their top-dog generals had all committed harikari, taking their staffs with them in the most honorable of conditions using knives stuck in their livers or grenades against their heads. Supplies came to our area like a flood. It was on Guam, after the fighting had subsided, everything we needed and a lot we didn't need kept coming to us: barrels of gasoline and boxes of napalm crystals, cases of grenades, good old 10-in-l rations (we could eat all 10 in one day if we wanted to), socks, shorts and pork and beans.  One day we had to destroy several cases of grenades by unscrewing the fuzes and letting them detonate after emptying the shells. No one wanted the grenades, and it wasn't safe to leave them alive. Trade was brisk with the rear echelon people who came up to the front looking for souvenirs. What Japanese trinkets we could find we sold or bartered for booze. Word was passed throughout the island telling everyone not to wander in the jungle for fear of being killed by the Marines. We weren't trigger happy but sometimes our dogs would sniff a Marine the same as a Jap. If some Marine souvenir hunter was out he might be sniffed and shot before he finished. The jungle was dense with a lot of thicket and I'm sure a lot of Japs temporarily survived our patrols by laying among some dead and looking dead. We had to shoot one of our dogs one day. Most of them were Doberman Pinchers, black, lean and tall. Dogs were assigned to a handler on a one-to-one basis and were not to be petted or fooled with by anyone else. This dog was a female, and I guess she finally got so high-strung with all the Jap smells, the shooting, the blood and excitement and all that, that one day when she spotted a Jap who had just stood up out of the brush with his hands up she charged. She lunged so hard she pulled her tether out of her handler's grip and loped straight at the Jap. At the height of her leap toward the Jap's head, the BARs roared and the dog dropped along with the Jap. A round had passed through her body but she was still alive when carried out on a stretcher. The guys were real sorry it happened; some had tears in their eyes. The Jap was left where he fell.
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One Airedale, named Jack, purportedly saved a battalion from destruction by carrying a message through one-half mile of swamp. The artillery barrage that surrounded him broke his jaw and shattered his foreleg. But he persevered, delivered his message to headquarters and then fell dead. The battalion was relieved, and Jack was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for "Gallantry in the Field."
A simple statue of a reclining Doberman pinscher evoked 54-year-old memories for former Marines attending a ceremony at the College of Veterinary Medicine this summer.
The unveiling of a memorial to the dogs who died helping American soldiers liberate the island of Guam during World War II was dedicated July 17, 1998, at the college during an emotional ceremony attended by over 200 people. The motto of the Marine Corps--Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) on this day was directed toward the heroic dogs that saved the lives of countless Marines during battle.
The war dogs, mostly Doberman pinschers, were from civilian life and trained to serve as mine detectors, messengers and sentries. Twenty-five of the dogs were killed during fierce fighting on Guam in 1944. They are credited with saving hundreds of American lives.
Much more information and very good pictures can be found at:
http://www.vet.utk.edu/wardog/ceremony.html
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