Going to post one good story here. Because politics can sap the breath out of your lungs if you allow it.
Frankly -- I'm tired of the Negative BS.
https://www.weaselzippers.us/402438-veterans-day-75-years-later-wwii-marine-corps-war-dog-handler-still-remembers-his-dogs/
Via Fox News:
Seventy-five years ago, on November 1, 1943, the 1st Marine War Dog Platoon stormed the beach at Bougainville, Solomon Islands. Twenty-four dogs landed with the Marines and the 2nd Marine Raider Regiment (Provisional) – three were German Shepherd messenger dogs, the other twenty-one were Doberman Pinscher silent scout and sentry dogs. Two of the messenger dogs, Thor and Jack, were handled by Pvt. Homer J. Finley, Jr. This is Homer’s story, now age 93, as told to Robin Hutton.
I went into the Marine Corps in 1942 and signed up for a four-year hitch. I was 17-years-old when I went in, and stationed in Jacksonville, Florida – a long way from Elmira, New York.
I loved dogs my whole life, so when I heard that the Marines were looking for volunteers for a job involving dogs, I volunteered and moved to Front Royal, Virginia. because that’s where all the dogs were coming in – and it was also closer to home.
You wouldn’t believe all the different dogs we worked with – a lot of them were pure bred and all sizes and shapes. The first thing we had to do was have the veterinarians check them over, and then we took care of their feeding, watering, cleaning up – everything.[…]
One day I was called into Marine Headquarters and was transferred to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Here’s where we got into serious dog training for combat, and that’s where the 1st Marine War Dog Platoon was originated.
The Marine Corps used German Shepherds and Doberman Pinchers. Our platoon had three German Shepherd messenger dogs – Caesar, Thor and Jack – and each had two handlers. That’s where I worked mostly. And that’s how I ended up going into combat.
At Camp Lejeune we had lessons on how to get the dogs off a transport and into a landing boat. They were preparing us for combat. That’s where we discovered dogs get seasick too. We were taken out in boats and we had to climb the cargo nets and they hoisted the dogs onboard with winches.
We went from LeJeune out to Camp Pendleton for further training on our way to the Pacific. While we were there they had professional dog trainers from the movies come into camp to watch what we were doing and give suggestions.
From Camp Pendleton we went on liberty ships to New Caledonia and joined up with the 2nd Marine Raider Regiment. Eventually we ended up at Guadalcanal as our base camp.
**Hat Tip Dapandico | November 12, 2018 10:05 pm
Frankly -- I'm tired of the Negative BS.
https://www.weaselzippers.us/402438-veterans-day-75-years-later-wwii-marine-corps-war-dog-handler-still-remembers-his-dogs/
Via Fox News:
Seventy-five years ago, on November 1, 1943, the 1st Marine War Dog Platoon stormed the beach at Bougainville, Solomon Islands. Twenty-four dogs landed with the Marines and the 2nd Marine Raider Regiment (Provisional) – three were German Shepherd messenger dogs, the other twenty-one were Doberman Pinscher silent scout and sentry dogs. Two of the messenger dogs, Thor and Jack, were handled by Pvt. Homer J. Finley, Jr. This is Homer’s story, now age 93, as told to Robin Hutton.
I went into the Marine Corps in 1942 and signed up for a four-year hitch. I was 17-years-old when I went in, and stationed in Jacksonville, Florida – a long way from Elmira, New York.
I loved dogs my whole life, so when I heard that the Marines were looking for volunteers for a job involving dogs, I volunteered and moved to Front Royal, Virginia. because that’s where all the dogs were coming in – and it was also closer to home.
You wouldn’t believe all the different dogs we worked with – a lot of them were pure bred and all sizes and shapes. The first thing we had to do was have the veterinarians check them over, and then we took care of their feeding, watering, cleaning up – everything.[…]
One day I was called into Marine Headquarters and was transferred to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Here’s where we got into serious dog training for combat, and that’s where the 1st Marine War Dog Platoon was originated.
The Marine Corps used German Shepherds and Doberman Pinchers. Our platoon had three German Shepherd messenger dogs – Caesar, Thor and Jack – and each had two handlers. That’s where I worked mostly. And that’s how I ended up going into combat.
At Camp Lejeune we had lessons on how to get the dogs off a transport and into a landing boat. They were preparing us for combat. That’s where we discovered dogs get seasick too. We were taken out in boats and we had to climb the cargo nets and they hoisted the dogs onboard with winches.
We went from LeJeune out to Camp Pendleton for further training on our way to the Pacific. While we were there they had professional dog trainers from the movies come into camp to watch what we were doing and give suggestions.
From Camp Pendleton we went on liberty ships to New Caledonia and joined up with the 2nd Marine Raider Regiment. Eventually we ended up at Guadalcanal as our base camp.
**Hat Tip Dapandico | November 12, 2018 10:05 pm
