Great Dogs of the United States Army
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942, the US Army joined with the American Kennel Club to create Defense Dogs. The American Kennel Club recruited dog owners to donate quality dogs to the military. The Quartermaster Corps was responsible for supplies, food services, and materiel management. On March 13, 1942, the Army Quartermaster Corps set about turning these pets into soldiers. The US Marines also trained handlers and dogs for soldiers in the Pacific during World War II.
Originally, there were over 300 dog breeds accepted into the program, but the list was eventually narrowed down to German Shepherds, Belgian Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Farm Cars and Giant Schnauzers. Of the 19,000 dogs screened for the program between 1942 and 1945, 45% were rejected. At first, civilian volunteers trained the recruits, but after the first training center opened in Front Royal, Virginia, training was done by soldiers from the Army Quartermaster Corps, and the Marines trained their own dogs.
The training lasted 12 weeks. It starts with basic obedience and progresses to training with gas masks, muzzles, military vehicles and shooting. After basic training was completed, the dogs were moved into training for specific duties.
Guard Dogs: Walk on short leashes and alert their handlers with growls and barks. They always patrolled with their guides.
Intelligence or Patrol Dogs: These dogs performed guard duties but were trained to work silently. They found snipers or ambushes from the enemy. These canine soldiers have saved the lives of many of their handlers.
Messenger Dogs: These dogs required extreme loyalty because they were used to silently carry messages back and forth between their two handlers.
Mine Dogs: These dogs are trained to detect cables and mines. During World War II, there were 140 dogs trained as mine dogs, but it was found that the dogs had trouble finding mines during combat.
Most of the dogs were trained as guards. Of the 9,300 dogs that were trained, 3,174 were used by the Coast Guard. These dogs have been used to guard coastlines, protect ports, and protect industrial plants and airports.
In 1944, the military began using canine dogs for combat. Guard dogs in combat could detect enemy soldiers up to 1,000 yards away. To alert their handler without giving away their positions, the dogs stiffened and the hair on the dog’s back stood up. Over the years, military working dogs have been used not only in World War II, but also in Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and are currently deployed in Iraq. It is noted that in Vietnam canine combat dogs have saved up to 10,000 lives.
One of the first military memorials was erected on Guam’s Assan Beach in 1944. It was moved to the United States Naval Base on the island in 1994. This particular memorial is dedicated to Doberman Pinschers who served with the Marines during World War II war. The inscription on the memorial statue reads… “always faithful”.
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