Saturday Spotlight!

War Animals: The Unsung Heroes of World War II by Robin Hutton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

War Animals by national bestselling author Robin Hutton recounts the experiences of the forgotten members of the Greatest Generation. Horses, mules, dogs, and pigeons were all a part of the Allied war machine. They were messengers, spies and sentinels. They carried supplies to the front, comforted wounded soldiers, became a POW, and were a vital part of the search/rescue effort during the German Blitz of London.

This is Hutton’s second book in the “War Animal series.”  In the first one she recounted the story of Reckless, a sorrel mare, small for her size, that joined the Marines during the Korean War. Employed to help move heavy recoilless rifles and ammunition across steep and treacherous terrain, she regularly proved her bravery and endurance, making precarious trips hauling ammunition to soldiers in need, often during heavy fire. Once home, news of her promotion to Staff Sergeant quickly spread, though that notoriety has since faded. Hutton’s passion and admiration for Reckless is shown when she raised the money for not one but three monuments to this courageous horse, at Quantico, Camp Pendleton, and at the Kentucky Horse Park.

In this latest book, incredible and inspiring true stories are told of some animals who received the PDSA Dicken Medal during WWII and lesser-known stories of other military animals whose acts of heroism have until now been largely forgotten. Founded in 1943, the prestigious PDSA Dicken Medal is the highest award an animal can achieve for gallantry and bravery in the field of military conflict, a Victoria Cross of sorts for animals.

War dogs came about after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, because it was decided the US military needed a war dog program.  Instead of originating from within the military, it was founded by a New York Socialite, Arlene Erlanger. She was a poodle breeder and wanted to help the allied effort.  Starting a grassroots movement, she created Dog for Defense Inc., a volunteer organization that recruited a canine army, known as the K-9 Corps. Owners of dogs donated their personal pets to the war effort.  The 40,000 animals were whittled down to about 19,000 after the first cut, but ultimately a little over 10,000 were chosen. The requirements included, dogs that were between 28 inches tall at the shoulder, and no more than five years old.  Once trained they were put on assignment with strict secrecy imposed.

Each of these stories will leave readers spell bound, but the most heartfelt one was that of Judy, an English Pointer. Chosen as a mascot for a Royal Navy gunboat she provided a huge morale boost. After some of the crew was reassigned to another ship, Judy went with them.  In 1942, attacked by more than a hundred Japanese bombers, the ships sank, but luckily Judy survived the shipwreck with some crew members. On March 18th, 1942 Judy and the surviving sailors were captured by the Japanese and became prisoners of war in forced labor camps. A new arrival, RAF pilot Frank Williams, took pity on her and decided that she would be his companion. He taught her to obey signals and whispered speech, while she brought scraps of food she salvaged to him. Transferred to an even more brutal labor camp, Frank worked up to sixteen hours a day to build railroad tracks. Williams described her as “a skinny animal that kept herself alive through cunning and instinct…I do not exaggerate when I say that this dog, with her example of courage to live, saved many of us who would surely have died.” Liberated in August 1945 by the allied soldiers, she lived with Frank until her death on February 16th, 1950.

Hutton noted, “When I heard about Judy I knew she would be the heart and soul of this book.  Her story touched me and it would also touch readers. She was resilient and became the heart of the POW camp.  The men would say ‘if Judy can make it so can I.’ They persevered because of her and never gave up. Today dogs are used to help with PTSD and back then Judy was no different.  She provided comfort and security.”

Another brave dog was Chips, a German Shepherd trained as a sentry who attacked an Italian machine gun team, sustaining powder burns and saving his handler’s life.  He actually received the Silver Star, but it was revoked in 1944 after a national commander complained.  Known as “Mr. Chips” he was honorably discharged on December 10th, 1945.  Private John Rowell who served with the canine partner wrote, “We went through a lot together…he is really wonderful.  He saved my life more than once when things were tough.”

Hutton decided “to nominate Chips for a Dickin’s Medal since he is America’s most decorated war dog.  He received it this January.”

The British also started up a war dog program in May 1941, and asked for citizens to volunteer their dogs. The War Dogs Training School officially opened for business on May 5, 1942 at a greyhound kennels in Northaw. Forty recruits were awaiting training. By the end of the war some 3,300 had been successfully dispatched to units across the globe.

But some of the most special dogs were those used for search/rescue.  As the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said of the German blitz, “Hitler hopes by killing large numbers of civilians and women and children that the will terrorize and cow the people of this mighty imperial city and make them a burden of anxiety to the government…Little does he know the spirit of the British nation.” This includes the dogs who located buried air raid victims.

This is a review by Elise Cooper. An ARC copy was provided for an honest opinion.

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