Evening star., 1950-11-12
By A. A. HoehIinq

MAKE IlO IllIoVdhc dUOVU ~, TAoo
Is here to stay as, shall we say, the
strong paw Of our fighting forces.
The Army has revealed that the
famed K-9 Corps, which dwindled
to a meager yelp after the war. is
a-building again and now num-
bers nearly 900 Of the finest dogs
available.
Although at peak strength dur
ing the conflict the corps stood at
some 10000 dogs, demobilization
hit hard.
So the Army is getting its K-S
Corps back In form again. making
It an integral part OF our military
menage. Being standardized. In
true CT fashion, Is the German
Shepherd, except for small num-
bers of huskies, Malamutes or
Eskimo dogs for the frozen North.
Training At Fort Monroe.
Training is administered from
Fort Monroe. Va, the headquar-
ters of the field forces. The Quar-
termaster Corps is in charge OF
the procurement Of CANNES.
Most of the dogs now are over
seas on sentry duty at warehouses
and various vital areas of military
installations. Commanders report
the dogs have proved invaluable
IN reducing the loss of supplies due
10 thefts and pilferage.
The Army. as it needs dogs, buys
them outright, in contrast to past
policy when they were largely do
mated. officers in charge think 1t
viii be less expensive this way. The
rejection rate during World War
II was As per cent, and costly pre-
liminary training had been given
those found unsuited. Further
funds were expended in detralnlng
the dogs to quiet, civilian life, and,
IN some instances, in searching
for the original owners.
Practice Not New.
1t will probably come as a sur
prise even to veteran dog lovers
to learn that dogs have been 60
ing to war for centuries. The an
cient Greeks get credit for first
mobilizing dogs to do battle. They
and the Romans used dogs as real
shock troops, even clothing them
in armor. Frederick the Great and
Napoleon both made use OF dogs,
at one time or another, for mes
senger or sentry duties or both.
In 1912 we embarked on ca
nine program. We were training
them for these duties: Messenger.
scout, mine detection, sentry
sledge and pack. About 80 per
cent were in the sentry category.
Dogs were given training as
rigorous as that meted out to COM |
mardos or paratroopers. Not only
did they have to obey elementary
commands, but more involved
ones; they had to feel at ease in
muzzles and gas masks. and de-
velop iron nerves.
Most difficult Of all, they had to
work silently and only bark for
specific reasons. The course took
about three months. although a
really clever canine might finish it
in two months. A number of
them won more than passing rec
ognition. A few:
Chips, assigned to the 3rd In
fantry Division. Not only did he
perform sentry duty at the Roose-
velt- Churchill conference In 1943
but later, in Sicily, attacked an
enemy machine-gun crew. Ac-
cording to the official report,
Chips seized one man in the crew
and the rest Immediately sur
rendered.
Saved Many Lives.
Peefka, q scout dog with the 5th
Army, is credited with saving
many lives both by detecting
enemy ambushes and enemy
mines. He was killed in action in
March. 1e45. by an enemy gren-
ade after leading his patrol
through a mountain region.
Silver was commended for ac-
ton In Italy. He alerted his
masters when the enemy was pre-
pairing a surprise bayonet attack.
Silver was killed shortly before
the wars end by an enemy gren-
ade thrown into his foxhole.
Dicks feat was somewhat ex-
traordinary. Working with the
Marines on a Pacific island, he
not only discovered camouflaged
japanese bivouac but unerringly |
pointed" the only occupied hut
out Of five. The Marines, with
out a casualty, annihilated the
enemy. /
The other day the Quarter
master Corps received note from
q lady.
"I am so upset over the world
situation and what might happen
with Russia" it read. II remem-
Der how badly you needed dogs
in the last war. My Flossie isn't
N.vv DIanuoe In Hnnnr