Animals in War
The remarkable animals that served alongside soldiers in World War II
5 facts in this category
What dog served as an official military private in the US Army and participated in over a dozen campaigns across North Africa and Europe?
Rags, a mixed-breed terrier found in a Paris gutter in 1918 (WW1) — the WW2 equivalent was Sergeant Reckless, a mare who served as an ammunition carrier in Korea, but dogs like Chips served in WW2 in North Africa and Sicily
Chips, a German Shepherd-Collie mix, attacked an Italian machine gun nest in Sicily and forced four soldiers to surrender. He received a Silver Star and a Purple Heart, though the military later rescinded them after objections that it was inappropriate to give military honors to an animal.
Which carrier pigeon saved nearly 200 American soldiers during WW2 by flying 20 miles in 20 minutes to stop a friendly bombing run?
GI Joe — an American homing pigeon who saved the British 56th Infantry Brigade from a planned Allied air strike on the Italian town of Colvi Vecchia in 1943
GI Joe arrived at the airfield with just minutes to spare. The planes were on the runway ready for takeoff when the message arrived. He was awarded the Dickin Medal posthumously and his stuffed body is displayed at the Royal Fusiliers Museum in London.
What was unusual about Wojtek, the bear who served with the Polish II Corps?
He was an officially enlisted private in the Polish Army who helped carry artillery shells and supplies during the Battle of Monte Cassino
Wojtek was found as a cub in Iran in 1943 and learned to carry crates of ammunition by watching soldiers. After the war he lived in Edinburgh Zoo, where Polish veterans would visit and wrestle with him for old times sake.
What is the story of "Unsinkable Sam," the cat who survived three ship sinkings?
A cat who survived the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, was adopted by HMS Cossack which was torpedoed, then transferred to HMS Ark Royal which was also torpedoed and sunk
Found floating on a board among Bismarck survivors in 1941, the cat was described as quite unperturbed after each disaster. After the third sinking, the Royal Navy posted him to land duty. He lived in a home for sailors in Belfast until 1955.
How did the US Marine Corps use Navajo Code Talkers, and why was the code never broken?
Native Navajo speakers transmitted battlefield communications in their complex language, which had no written form and was spoken by fewer than 30 non-Navajos worldwide — the code added another layer of code words on top of the language itself
The Navajo language has tonal qualities, regional dialects and complex syntax that made it virtually impossible without a native speaker. The Code Talkers used code words (a turtle was a tank, an iron fish was a submarine) on top of the language. Japan never broke it.