For several years, I have not been able to attend because of work. This morning I played hookie for a while and Ryan and I went in and did the tour. It was wonderful.
The stories we heard and the things we saw.
The sacrifices we heard and the Heros we met.
The spouses of Men and women who served.
And the artifacts they use to help tell their stories.
One such gent told us the stories of the War Dogs.
When WWII broke out, the military had no dogs. The AKC finally convinced the War Department the value of dogs in the field. The War Department said if the AKC could get the dogs, the Government would train them.
Across the US, families heeded the call and signed up their family pets for active duty. The Papers had a check mark if you wanted the dog back when and if they made it thru.
Money to train the recruits was raised by donations from families who didnt have a compatible for service dog... They could make a donation in their dogs name. A dollar got them an honorary Private rank, all the way up to General by denominations.
The dogs who did make it into the service were used as medic help (find the wounded soldier, bring back something personal so the medic would know to follow) ears and nose for soldiers in dense fog or darkness, jumping into enemy machine gun nests and foxholes to "distract the enemy"
The dogs had their own tents, raincoats, gas masks, and yes,even dog tags.
The uniforms from the Revolutionary War until Now, Indian artifacts to machine guns. It was a touching way to honor our Vets and a way for our small community to say
