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December 08, 2004
Stubby the Wonderdog of War
About a year ago I read the book The Lost History of the Canine Race by Mary Thurston which details the history of man's interaction with dogs and the various tasks that dogs have performed for societies over the course human history. Most dogs have worked with other animals in farms or fields or have been beasts of burden or work in place like taverns or pulling things like carts. The other main type of dog has been dogs used in war and I had to reread this section of the book this morning for a class.
My favorite dog story from the book is Stubby. Stubby was a bull terrier and boxer mix that wandered onto Yale's campus while the 102nd infantry was training in 1917. He was adopted by the soldiers who later smuggled him to Europe. During the first battles Stubby was in he comforted soldiers who were lying wounded on the field of battle. Stubby repeatedly saved the lives of the soldiers in his platoon from incoming mortar and gas attacks by warning them before they hit and on one occasion Stubby captured an escaping German spy. He also once saved a little Parisian girl from being run over in the street. Stubby was in eighteen major battles, was given the rank of sergeant (highest rank ever for a dog in the U.S. Army), and was received by three presidents. After his death Stubby's hide was preserved and he currently resides in the Smithsonian.
Another notable war dog mentioned in the book is Chips the most decorated American war dog of WWII. He was a German Shepard - Collie - Huskie mix who participated in eight campaigns with Patton's Seventh Army. Chips disobeyed his handler on one occasion and went into a supposedly empty pillbox in Sicily where he promptly captured six German soldiers. Chips also once tried to bite General Eisenhower.
Over the past fifty years most military dogs have been trained at Lackland Air Force Base here in San Antonio. Other dogs served (mainly as guards and scouts of some sort) in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. For instance, a Belgian Malinois named Carlo was able to discover 167 hidden explosives in Kuwait.
Posted by Pete at December 8, 2004 01:46 PM
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