Category: Animals
“Beachcomber remains the only Canadian pigeon and one of only three Canadian Service animals to be awarded the Dickin Medal” (Veterans Affairs). Radio silence was imposed on the Dieppe Raid and the first message to get back to Britain was carried by a pigeon known as “Beachcomber”. Continue reading “Dieppe and Pigeons Come Together at the LEX”
“These homing pigeons are doing much to save the lives of our boys in France. They act as efficient messengers and dispatch bearers not only from division to division and from the trenches to the rear but also are used by our aviators to report back the results of their observation”.
Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat. The Boston Bull Terrier started out as the mascot of the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division, and ended up becoming a full-fledged combat dog. Brought up to the front lines, he was injured in a gas attack early on, which gave him a sensitivity to gas that later allowed him to warn his soldiers of incoming gas attacks by running and barking. He helped find wounded soldiers, even captured a German spy who was trying to map allied trenches. Stubby was the first dog ever given rank in the United States Armed Forces, and was highly decorated for his participation in seventeen engagements, and being wounded twice.