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REMAIN IN SERVICE; TRAINEDDURING WORLD WAR II1 By JAKE EADSieat. WASHINGTON—Only 281 members Of the. Army K-l Corps., which Served' so stout-heartedly during the war, have been kept In service and these are now romping out their, days at Front Royal, Va. .Talk of using these -carefully-picked, highly-trained dogs lor breeding purposes apparently has been abandoned, spokesmen al the Quartermaster Corps say,Some 30,094 canines were recruited by the Army al lliu time of the corps’ inception hi 1942.Of this number.10,826 measuredup to a pec If i cations j w ere trained and put into service.* ‘Some of the dogs' were purchased. Their average pnee was around $50. 9ome were- donated by patriotic owners, • . *Dogs for Defense-\ contributed 'ft large number. It was n .private organization ' headed' by Mrs. Ellrctjji Erlanger. of NnW York, who later. • serve! as flh Advisor to K-9 because of her expert knowledge of dogs.. t,. i All K-9 recruits had to Weigh around 50 pounds and.be from 23 to 24 inches high ut Lhe shoulder.The nge range was . from ‘ .14 months to three and a half years a I time of enlistment.Originally five breeds were acceptable. Those were German and Belgian shepherds, Doberman Pinscher, Collie and giant. Schnauzer. They were trained for either scout or patrol work.without harking or .whimpering,: they saved hendrcds' of ourAbayi-from walking kito Japanese.' ambush. ; • . , . . \ ,• ■The patrol, or sentry,,dog* Were trained to attack, vlt;ere one-ittan dogs, quick and fierce: •The last were the hardest to-turn to civilian life: they MilV.tp bo de-tralncd before,they could. l?e considered nafc Bnd a few hadUo be killed. ■ V.Of the dogs enlisted, in K-'D, some 2,290 were war casualty Scores weru wounded,.... . . JTwenty-five wore awarded citations for various acta of herojAni or extreme intelligence. One of these was Pccfka,- a- German Shepherd belonging • to * Kenneth W. Hayward; an * upper • New Hampshire slate policeman,.• Hu alerted to a Gbrmau ambu'ah In Italy tnd warned our deUqji-ment, which skirted* the.ambuih and attacked from the rear. P^ef-ka had henn wounded, but no (one knew. He had been trained not* to* whimper or bark. •On the roiid back he alerted;*second time. It wns then the* soldiers noted l^s wound. Too latr Even a transfixion could’hot save1 hie life. • - -Of the remaining dogs who had; served in K:9 many were returned' to their owners. The others were sold by War Asset* Administration Rt auction. • ’ ■[']Millions of seabirds have been victims of oil (lumped un the wa-
Newspaper Details
Las Cruces Sun News
Las Cruces, New Mexico, US
Wed, Sep 03, 1947
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Nancy L.
NM, USA 30 Sep 2017
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