October 12, 2005
Celebrating Bravery
In the annals of military history, we celebrate heroes. Men such as Audie Murphy, John Paul Jones, Douglas McArthur, Robert O'Malley and James Ward. Moreover, deserving they are. But there are other heroes as well, none with the Congressional Medal of Honor, few beyond the rank of Corporal, yet heroes for sure. These are the K-9's, our four footed troops.
The history of the "K-9 Corps" in the United States goes back as far as the 2nd Seminole War in which 33 Bloodhounds were trained as both guard and attack dogs. Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish American War trained dogs as Point Scouts. Marines used the K-9's in the so-called "Banana Wars" and subsequently included them in their training for the island hopping campaign against the Japanese in World War II.
By the time of the Vietnam war, K-9 troops were an established part of the U.S. Military, indeed, of military services around the world. And stalwart troops they are. Tales of K-9 heroism abound in military annals, such as the story of Chips:
One of the first dogs to be shipped overseas was Chips, the son of a part-shepherd, part-collie father and a northern sled-dog mother. Chips was donated by Edward J. Wren of Pleasantville, New York, and was trained at Front Royal, Virginia in 1942.Chips first served in General Patton's brutal Africa campaign, then waded ashore with the 3rd Division of Patton's Seventh Army as it was swept into battle in Sicily. Chips was very popular with his buddies. Affectionate and with particularly keen senses of smell and hearing, he was also a nonconformist who would break rules when he felt danger, oblivious to what every soldier knows: breaking rules for any reason does not endear one to field commanders and high-ranking brass. Chips would later discover this and while he wouldn't care, his comrades would.
Shortly after Chips and the men had made their way ashore and established a beachhead on Sicily, the soldiers, thinking they were momentarily out of danger, slowly inched their way to an abandoned pillbox where they decided to take a short rest. Tired and weary, Chips, however, could not relax. His senses told him there was danger nearby and suddenly he broke away from his handler - violating a sacred rule - dashed across a stretch of No Man's Land. A bullet pierced his body, but he ignored the pain and threw himself into an enemy machine gun nest. The firing stopped. There was deadly silence, and for a moment Chips was not seen or heard. When his comrades got to the scene, they saw Chips holding onto the throat of the enemy gunner, and five other terrified men with their arms raised in surrender.
On October 21, 2005, K-9s such as Chips and many other unsung heroes will be honored with a War Dog Memorial on Long Island, New York. The Memorial (pictured above) was sculpted by Doug Roper (GM's younger Brother.)
The War Dog Memorial is a fitting tribute to these gallant animals who have often given their lives in the service of the United States.
UPDATE... The date of the Monument Dedication is 10/21/05 at 11:00 AM, not the 22nd as originaly posted. The ceremony will be at the H.Lee Dennison Building, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, New York (Long Island - Suffolk County) If you are anywhere near the vicinity, please feel free to attend.. If you talk with the sculptor, Doug Roper, tell him his big brother said Hi.
Linked at Stop the ACLU
Posted by GM Roper at October 12, 2005 05:28 AM | TrackBackYou know we always forget about all the HEROES in the military. And those who are not in the military.
Thank you GM for posting about the K-9's, man's best friend for sure.
Posted by Raven at October 12, 2005 08:32 AM
OK, GM - you can't be ALL bad if you have such a talented younger brother, LOL!
Beautiful post! Aren't we truly such a blessed country, where not only men and women, but also animals have such courage?
God bless our troops: two-footed AND four-footed!
-- R'cat
CatHouse Chat
Posted by Romeocat at October 12, 2005 08:49 AM
I just want to give a litle background on the sculpture of the War Dog Memorial.
I was honored to be a sculptor who was raised in a military family my father and grandfather were career army officers. So, when I was approached about doing a sculpture honoring dogs that have served in the military from the Revolutionary War until now, it was important to me – it was a way to respect their memory and those that the dogs had protected and worked for. In the spring of 2001 I was asked to submit a drawing of a German shepherd stepping off a boulder into the unknown. My concept was selected out of the nine artists that were contacted.
After 9-11 happened everything ground to a halt for two years, in the spring of 2004 I got the signed contract and they told me that Hal Wilson's dog Tsunami would be the dog I would use as my model, because people kept saying “this is the type dog that we use; she’s perfect." "She looks the part," was the response over and over again from Veteran’s groups. Hal Wilson started sending me e-mails with photographs of Tsunami but this made it a little difficult since the photos were not high resolution. Some essential details did not come through. My sculpture was close, but I knew I needed to see the dog in person. So, Hal brought Tsunami down the first week of September that year. It was an absolutely amazing experience to work with the dog. She would sit down for hours while I refined the texture and face to make the monument look more like her.
After Hal & Tsunami had spent the first 2 days at the foundry, I suggested that my wife take them to the Alamo. (Hal had a coon skin cap as a child and had always wanted to visit there.) There were some questions from security staff about bringing a dog into the Alamo, but she was in her search and rescue harness, and after relating that Tsunami had gone in to ground zero on 9-12, to do search & rescue and some introductions to a representative of the Daughters of the Texas Revolution, they were allowed to view the Alamo. On the way out, one of the docents used the PA to announce that there was a dignitary visiting the Alamo and they brought out a book and stamp pad and had Tsunami put her paw print in the dignitary book with a note from Hal about who she was. That print is between signatures of Prince Charles and one of the governors of Texas!
Posted by Doug Roper at October 12, 2005 12:47 PM
GM, thank you for your reminding us of those unsung war heroes who we don't even think about. Horses, of course, have been honored in statues for centuries, But dogs in war I had tended to associate with guarding POW camps and hunting down escaped POWs. Your Chips story adds a new dimension to the phrase "man's best friend".
Doug, thanks for your telling us "the story behind the story". I trust that your faith will continue to shine forth through your sculptures.
Posted by civil truth at October 13, 2005 07:33 PM
GM,
What a great post! The story of Chips especially reaches me as I am an admirer of General Patton. Chips was just as fearless!
Posted by Always On Watch at October 15, 2005 07:44 PM
