Doberman Military Service
One of the more interesting aspects of Doberman history, was the use of this great breed during war times. Dobermans are known for their protective guarding abilities but because of their intelligence and easy trainability they were also found useful for service in the military.
Dobermans were used in both WWI and WWII, assisting soldiers. These war dogs were trained to find and rescue wounded soldiers, detect enemy locations and mines, act as messengers, sentries and guard dogs A testament to the cruelty, wastefulness and sadness of war, was the use of suicide dogs. These dog victims of war were packed with explosives that were remotely detonated once the dog was near an enemy tank.
In WWII the U.S. Marine Corps had their own K-9 Corps known as the “Devil’s Dogs”. (Not the most flattering name for a heroic group of dogs). These dogs received specialized training as messenger dogs to deliver messages, ammunition or medical supplies and sentry dog training to alert handlers of any enemy strangers approaching. These dogs prevented many ambushes as they stood watch protecting their sleeping, tired soldier handlers. Of these Marine War Dogs, 25 died in 1944 at the Battle of Guam.
Read more about the Marine Dog Platoon
In honour of these dogs a memorial was created on the island of Guam in the South Pacific. Fourteen dogs were killed in action and others died from exhaustion, tropical illness, heat stroke, accidents, and anemia from hookworm. All were buried in Guam in what is now the first war dog memorial (created by former 1st Lt. William W. Putney, who was the veterinarian for the dogs on Guam). A beautiful life-size bronze statue, “Always Faithful” was created by Susan Bahary.
