The heroic animals that saved their humans in the face of sickness, death, and war
Photo Source: The American Legion
On our latest episode, we discussed the heroic animals that saved the lives of their humans. While we don't want to ruin the episode for you, we decided to tell you a little bit about them in order to spark your interest!
Balto and the Great Race of Mercy
Did anyone used to watch that awesome animated film about Balto? I used to love it when I was a kid, but children's movies based on true events tend to shy away from the not so happy moments of a story. The true story of Balto has some not so happy moments.
In 1925, the citizens of Nome, Alaska began to show signs of diptheria. I don't know what YOU know about diptheria, but it's definitely not a good time. The infection causes shortness of breath, heart failure, paralysis, and it can even kill you. Once it spreads, it's an epidemic. Nome did NOT want an epidemic on their hands. To put it in further perspective, in 1921, diptheria killed 15,000 Americans.
Thankfully, there was an available anti-toxin. Unfortunately, the closest city that possessed this anti-toxin was Anchorage, and the harsh winter made flying the serum to Nome impossible. Because of this, prospects seemed bleak, until teams of mushers and their faithful dogs stepped up to the plate.
And so, on January 27, 1925 the great race to relay the serum over 650 of icy terrain began with musher 'Wild Bill ' Shannon and his team of dogs. The serum was transferred between several teams of mushers and dogs, before it finally landed in the hands of Gunnar Kaasen and his team of dogs, lead by Balto.
On February 2, the serum arrived in Nome, Kaasen's sled being pulled in by Balto and his team. Though Kaasen's team did not relay the serum by themselves, folks often think that they traversed the entire 674 miles by themselves. That, however, is false. For example, Togo the dog lead his team through icy terrain and temperatures as low as -85, and 5,000 feet up a mountain in order to relay the serum to the next team. In all, 20 mushers and around 150 dogs saved the day.
Regardless, Balto and his team DID finish the run, and traveled through white-out conditions to do so. In all, the Great Race of Mercy took six days, when it normally would have taken a month or more. Lives were saved, and the sled dogs that brought the serum to Nome were hailed as heroes.
Kaasen, Balto, and his team became famous. They were even present when a statue dedicated to the brave teams responsible for the Great Race of Mercy was unveiled in Central Park. Sadly, Kaasen grew tired of the spotlight and wished to return to Alaska, so Balto and his team were actually auctioned off and sold to the highest bidder. They appeared on the Vaudeville Circuit, and people came from miles and miles around to see them. They ended up chained in a tiny room on display at an oddities and freak show museum. Seems like a poor way to treat a hero, right?
Eventually, former prize fighter George Kimble found Balto and his team in a poor, neglected state, and worked together with The Plain Dealer (a newspaper) to petition for their release. Thankfully, it worked and Balto plus six companions made their way to Cleveland, where they were given a hero's welcome, complete with parade. Balto died in 1933, and was preserved by a taxidermist. You can actually still see him, as he is on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Image Source : Wikipedia
Dogs of War
Some of the best puppers were actually an active part of war. While I don't want to spoil the entirety of our latest episode and would rather you listen to it to learn everything, I DO want to tell you a little bit about Stubby and Chips.
Stubby was a little brindle pup that found
his way into the posession of J. Robert Conroy in July 1917. Stubby showed up at Camp Yale, and the 102nd Infantry adopted him as their mascot.
Stubby was a very smart boy. He learned what bugle calls meant, how to do drills, and even how to do his own doggy version of a salute, which he would perform any time one of his humans did.
Despite rules that no dogs were allowed, Conroy and his infantry smuggled Stubby aboard the USS Minnesota in an overcoat. It wasn't long before he was discovered by commanding officers, but once Stubby saluted them, they didn't have the heart to boot him. Once they landed in France, Stubby accompanied them on to the front lines. Not only did he keep up company morale (because who doesn't love dogs?!), he could sniff out the enemy and was even responsible for taking a prisoner of war. He could understand the difference between English and other languages too, which made him an exemplary sentry. He was even wounded in battle and took shrapnel.
Stubby survived being gassed, and became very sensitive to it, and saved the lives of countless soldiers when he anticipated a gas attack, and ran up and down the trenches barking and nipping at his comrades until they awoke and prepared themselves for the onslaught. In short, Stubby was a hero. He served for 18 months in 17 different battles of WWI, and was awarded the Humane Education Society Gold Medal, and a wound stripe for his battle wounds. He died in 1926.
Chips was an exceptional pup who served in WWII. Unlike Stubby, Chips was wanted on the front line. He was actually a pet, belonging to the Wren Family. War, however, calls for sacrifice. As the United States entered WWII, people were urged to give up their dogs to serve in the war effort. Chips was one of 11,000 or so that were surrendered. Most of these dogs were trained as sentry dogs and sent to the coasts of home territory, but chips was trained and sent to serve in active combat overseas.
Chips had his shining moment in 1943 as he, his handler (Pvt. John Rowell), and their company landed on the beaches of Sicily, and a hidden machine gun nest opened fire on them. While everyone hit the sand, Chips broke free of his handler, and changed directly into the hidden nest, teeth flashing. A few moments later, a German soldier exited with Chips at his throat. Several soldiers followed, hands in the air in surrender. Chips had charged head first into the nest, knocked the still smoking machine gun to the ground, and took prisoners of war.
Chips was the goodest of boys, and was rewarded with Silver Star, a Distinguished Service Cross, and a purple heart. However, due to complaints that animals should not be awarded the same honors as humans and outrage that sparked from the award, they were taken back. Chips was not actually awarded any medals for his service until 2018. The medal was received in honor of chips by his owner, John Wren, who was just a boy when chips was sent to war, and then returned after three years of service. Chips died a scant seven months after he was returned home in 1945.
Wojtek the Bear
The story of Wojtek is a pretty facinating one! To give you a very brief rundown, Wojtek was discovered by a group of Polish POW's in the mountains of Iran in April of 1942. They decided to adopt said bear cub, and nurse him with condensed milk in a vodka bottle. Sound pretty cool?
It gets better.
Wojtek grew up, and was often found smoking (and eating) cigarettes, and drinking lots of beer straight from the bottle. He knew how to turn on the showers in order to drink water. He'd hold up new recruits by their ankles just to mess with them. He carried cases of ammo during combat, and kept the morale of his fellow soldiers up. Wojtek died in 1963 due to damage of the esophagus.
Siwash the Duck
The final tale that I'd like to mention is that of Siwash the Duck. Perhaps the oddest member of the First Battalion of the Tenth Marine Regiment, Siwash was adopted into the fold when she was won in a raffle in 1943.
Siwash participated in the Battle of Tarawa in November of 1943, fighting right alongside her Marines. She even went head to head with a Japanese Rooster while her comrades fought around her. They noted that, even though they were hungry, they could never bring themselves to cook Siwash, because they were too fond of him.
Siwash also took part in the Battles of Saipan and Tinian, during which she stormed the beaches on D-Day and took prisoner a tiny Japanese Duck.
Siwash was awarded the purple heart, and retired to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. She stayed there until her death in 1954.
This and More!
Have we sparked your interest? Listen to us give the full story of these amazing animals, plus the stories of several more! Want to learn about the heroic dogs of 9/11? You've come to the right podcast. Thank you for reading, and we hope that you will like and subscribe to our little show! Thank you for your support!
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