On this day in history, March 13, 1942, the US Army K-9 Corps begins training dogs to fight in World War II.
The US Army K-9 Corps, which trained more than 10,000 dogs to serve in various branches of the American military during World War II, began barking orders to its four-legged foot soldiers on this day in history, 13 March 1942.
“Dogs have been associated with the United States Army since its inception, but their role has mostly been as mascots or in some other unofficial capacity,” wrote Dr. Arthur W. Bergeron Jr. from the US Army Institute of Military History in 2016.
He said, “It wasn’t until World War II that the Army officially made the connection.”
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The American Kennel Club organized a civilian organization called Dogs for Defense in January 1942, in the frantic weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor that promoted the right power of the American people – and American puppies.
Lieutenant Colonel Clifford C. Smith of the Army Quartermaster Corps became aware of the American Kennel Club’s effort and ran the idea of the K-9 Corps up the flagpole with Major General Edmund B. Gregory.
(Original Caption) 11/3/1945 – WAR RETURNED… The first members of infantry platoons to arrive from overseas regain their land feet by bowing with their masters, as this one does here. He returned with more than 90 dogs that served the 5th Army in Italy. (Getty Images)
The unit was authorized by Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson and began training dogs for the US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, as well as the Army.
“At first the K-9 Corps accepted more than 30 dog breeds, but the list was soon reduced to seven: German Shepherds, Belgian Sheepdogs, Doberman Pinschers, Sheepdogs, Siberian Huskies , Malumutes and Eskimo dogs,” reports US Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“Dogs have been associated with the United States Army since its inception.” – US Army Institute of Military History
“Members of the K-9 Corps were trained for a total of 8 to 12 weeks. After basic obedience training, they were sent through one of four special programs to prepare them for work as sentry dogs, scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs or detection dogs.”
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Dogs were in active duty combat as scouts and watchmen, monitoring the movements of enemy forces or warning of surprise attacks.
A grave for a World War I military dog at Hillside Acre Cemetery in Methuen, Massachusetts. The cemetery is over 100 years old and one of the oldest in the country. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Chips, a combat canine serving with the 3rd Infantry Division in Sicily in 1943, became a US Army legend when the dog accidentally attacked a machine gun emplacement and – despite being wounded gun – forced the garrison to surrender.
“Among the soldiers who hit the beach was the 3rd Military Police Platoon, 30th Infantry Regiment, which includes Pvt. John R. Rowell of Arkansas and his dog, Chips,” the Defense Media Network said.
“I saw one Italian soldier come out with Chips around his neck… Three others followed, holding their hands above their heads.” – Pvt. John Rowell
“At daybreak, the platoon was working inland when a machine gun nest hidden in a nearby farmer’s hut opened fire. Rowell and the rest of the platoon hit the ground immediately. , snarling, racing into the hut … the soldiers heard someone inside the hut firing a pistol.”
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Said Pvt. Rowell about what happened, “There was a lot of noise and the shooting stopped.”
Chips, a war dog who was commended for bravery in the Sicilian campaign, is shown receiving a donut from a GI. (Getty Images)
“I saw one Italian soldier come out with Chips at his throat. I called him before he could kill the man. Three others followed, holding their hands above their heads.”
The wounded schooners were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and Purple Heart – although the awards were later canceled by Army policy, which was against such praise for animals.
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Dogs served bravely in the Pacific Theater as well, most notably in the Battle of Guam in 1944.
“Kurt, a Doberman Pinscher, was a scout dog during World War II and is credited with saving the lives of 250 Marines on Guam,” writes the National Service Animal Memorial website, which has been proposed as a way honored K- America.9s.
“He was mortally wounded when he went before the soldiers to warn them of the dangers before them.”
Petty Officer 2nd Class Blake Soller, a Military Working Dog (MWD) handler, pets the head of Rico at the War Dog Cemetery located on Naval Base Guam October 27, 2006. (Public Domain)
An astounding 25 members of the K-9 Corps were killed in Guam, making it the deadliest dog engagement in American history.
The National War Dogs Cemetery was dedicated at Naval Base Guam in 1994 to honor the sacrifices of America’s brave soldiers.
Dogs have served the United States Armed Forces since the nation’s earliest days.
The American Battle Trust monitors the dogs’ service to the country of the American Revolution and the “Father of the American Foxhound” – George Washington himself.
Foxes bred by General Washington at Mount Vernon were “a smarter and faster variant of their French and British counterparts,” it is believed.
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“The breed was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1886. The American fox is now the official state dog of Washington’s home state of Virginia.”
Dogs had emerged as a strong fighting force in Europe during the First World War, when over a million dogs served on both sides of the conflict.
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“The most famous dog to come out of the war was Rin Tin Tin, a German war dog who was abandoned in France in 1918 and brought to the United States, where he made his first his footage in the 1922 silent film ‘The Man from Hell’s River,’” writes the US Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum.
“As the first animal movie star, Rin Tin Tin made the little-known German Shepherd breed national. “
Rin Tin Tin is said to have won the first Oscar for Best Actor in 1929, only to have the award canceled and given instead to German actor Emil Jennings.
“Dog of the Regiment” poster by Rin Tin Tin, 1927. (LMPC via Getty Images)
“It is seen as one of the darkest scandals in the history of the Academy: the story of a beloved Hollywood star, robbed of his best actor Oscar by a craven Hollywood establishment,” London’s Guardian reported in 2012.
The story cited Rin Tin Tin biographer Susan Orlean as one of the sources of the rumor of injustice.
The US Army says it used 1,500 dogs during the Korean War, 4,000 in the Vietnam War and hundreds more in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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War dogs serve soldiers in ways that can’t always be captured in a combat report or pop culture tribute, writes the American Battlefield Trust.
“During the war, dogs would help with hunting and act as messengers, but they also provided a much-needed boost to the injured and exhausted soldiers.”
