March 13, 2013
US ARMY K9 CORPS FOUNDED 71 YEARS AGO TODAY
Front Royal, Virginia (JFK+50) 71 years ago today, March 13, 1942, the US ARMY K9 CORPS, also known as the WAR DOG PROGRAM, was founded by the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army.
Trained dogs were used by both sides during the First World War & the most famous for the Americans was a German Shepherd named RIN TIN TIN*.
Rin Tin Tin
Frozen River (1929)
*Rin Tin Tin (1918-1932) was rescued from a WWI battlefield by Lee Duncan, an American soldier, who named him 'RINTY'. During the 1920s, RTT appeared in 27 Hollywood movies.
The Quartermaster Corps later trained dogs for the Navy, Marines & Coast Guard.
The breeds most used for service included Belgian sheepdogs, Dobermans, Collies, Huskies, Malamutes & Eskimo dogs.
Training was for an 8 to 12 week period with dogs being prepared as sentries, scouts, patrol dogs, messengers & mine detectors.
The "top dog" of WWII was a German Shepherd-Collie-Husky mixed breed owned by E.J. Wren of Pleasantville, NY. His name was CHIPS.
Chips was trained in Front Royal, Virginia & placed with the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division. With his handler Private John P. Rowell, Chips served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France & Germany.
A Walt Disney movie about him, "Chips, the War Dog," premiered in 1990.
You Tube Video
