War Dog Research Paper

In the late summer of 1942, the Marine Corps decided to experiment with the use of dogs in war, which may have been a new departure for the Corps but not a new idea in warfare. Since ancient times dogs have served man in various ways: the Romans used the heavy Mastiffs with armored collars to attack their enemies in the legs, thus forcing them to lower their shields; first aid dogs were used in World War I; and, of course, all kinds and breeds of dogs have been used for centuries for pulling small carriages and sleds or as pack animals to transport light loads over difficult trails. In the 1920’s, a Marine serving as an officer in the Garde d’Haiti trained a dog to work in the point of his patrols for the purpose of exposing bandit ambushes.

From 'war dogs' trained in combat to their use as scouts, sentries and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military usage. War dogs were used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Sarmatians, Baganda, Alans, Slavs, Britons, and the Romans as anything between pets to attack. Different breeds were used for different things, but always met the demands of their handlers. Many roles for dogs in war are obsolete and no longer practiced, but the concept of the war dog still remains alive and well in modern warfare. They were often used as unit mascots for military units. The mascot position was usually filled by an officer's dog, an animal that the unit chose to adopt, or one of their canines employed in another role as a working dog. Some naval dogs such as Sinbad and Judy were themselves enlisted service members. Some units also chose to employ a particular breed of dog as their standard mascot, with new dogs replacing the old when it died or was retired. The presence of a mascot was designed to uplift morale, and many were used to this effect in the trenches of World War I. Contemporary dogs in military roles are also often referred to as police dogs, or in the United States as a Military Working Dog (MWD), or K-9. Their roles are nearly as varied as their ancient cousins, though they tend to be more rarely used in front-line formations. As of 2011,

These pets were promised to be returned to their owners however when the dogs returned many of the owners didn’t want them back. Bismarck although he was WWI I still want to mention him; he was brought into the war dog program during World War 1, he is also buried at the Hingham War Dog Memorial. Bismarck was a mixed breed and died in 1939 (Putney). Butch however was WWII and was a war dog that was brought into the marine K-9 program during World War 2. He is now memorialized and buried at the War Dog Memorial in Hingham (Aiello). From what we know Butch was in the Pacific theater during the war and believe he was a sentry dog responsible for guarding soldiers and supplies. Butch was an English Bulldog and died in 1950 at 11 years old (dog years), while Sturgis (The dog’s original owner) was serving in Korea with the Marines