November 24, 2004

"They had no choice." The Princess Royal unveils a memorial to animals who died serving in wartime. "The monument pays special tribute to the 60 animals awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal - the animals' equivalent of the Victoria Cross - since 1943. They include 54 animals - 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, three horses and a cat - commended for their service in World War II." Including "Rob, a para-dog who made more than 20 parachute drops while serving with the SAS..."
posted by DangerIsMyMiddleName 20 years ago
  • I heard the radio program on these - I really like them. Only one cat has ever won one (they are only rarely self-sacraficing), for being a rat catcher and blown up and surviving, and they told his whole story - it was very interesting.
  • (a ratcatcher on a ship)
  • Awwww.... I must admit, my first impulse was "Wow.. that's pretty fucking stupid they're just damn anima..." And then my cat started stepping on the keys to my laptop... *tears up* Bless you, you brave animals *salutes*
  • (It was the "They had no choice" caption that did me in)
  • me too, Debaser 626. And then to hear the stories of bravery... aw. it gives the warm fuzzies, it does.
  • There are twin memorials for U.S. military dogs including the WW2 K-9 Corps dogs at March Field Air Museum, Riverside California, and at Fort Benning, Georgia.
  • Perhaps I'm dense, but it's driving me nuts I can't find what the cat won a medal for.
  • Not only did they not have a choice, but I don't think they did it out of heroism. Well, you might persuade me that the dogs did to a degree, but not the others. Which, I think, makes it all the sadder. So, yeah, a monument to animals that died or were injured, following human orders, in spite of their lack of understanding, seems a good thing to me. (Not that their relatives will get any consolation, but maybe it'll remind us that we take a toll on our domesticated friends.)
  • And yet, no memorial to those victims of the Princess Royal herself! The term "para-dog" is my new word of the month.
  • Winnie the Pooh's namesake although he didn't win a medal, had a military beginning as a regimental mascot.
  • rogerd - it might take more time than you wanted to, but if you listen to the BBC radio show (link at the bottom), they will talk about it. They interview one of the sailors who knew the cat. But yes, I was looking and couldn't find it.
  • War and the image/symbol of a horse is a recurrent theme: Only a dying horse! pull off the gear, And slip the needless bit from frothing jaws, Drag it aside there, leaving the road way clear ... A dear friend of mine, a life-long rancher, served in Italy during WWII with the mule corps. He told me "it tore the heart out of men when an honest mule died." He said it would have been amazing to see the last of the mounted artillery on display, but that he would not have been able to stand to see dead horses. ... Where are they? the war-steeds who shared in our glory, The "Lanercost" colt, and the "Acrobat" mare, And the Irish division, "Kate Kearney" and "Rory", And rushing "Roscommon", and eager "Kildare", And "Freeny", a favourite once with my master, And "Warlock", a sluggard, but honest and true, And "Tancred", as honest as "Warlock", but faster, And "Blacklock", and "Birdlime", and "Molly Carew"? -- ... The Horses "Thus far 80,000 horses have been shipped from the United States to the European belligerents." WHAT was our share in the sinning, That we must share the doom? Sweet was our life's beginning In the spicy meadow-bloom, With children's hands to pet us And kindly tones to call. To-day the red spurs fret us Against the bayonet wall. What had we done, our masters, That you sold us into hell? Our terrors and disasters Have filled your pockets well. You feast on our starvation; Your laughter is our groan. Have horses then no nation, No country of their own? What are we, we your horses, So loyal where we serve, Fashioned of noble forces All sensitive with nerve? Torn, agonized, we wallow On the blood-bemired sod; And still the shiploads follow. Have horses then no God? Katharine Lee Bates
  • After a war, there are usually stories about brave soldiers and heroic acts. But have you ever heard of a cat that won an award for his bravery during a military conflict? This honour belongs to a tomcat called Simon.
  • "Mary of Exeter, another pigeon, which flew back with her neck and right breast ripped open, savaged by hawks kept by the Germans at Calais." ...Spielberg! Paging Mr. Spielberg! Please pick up the white courtesy telephone, your next oscar is calling on line 1... Damn those German Hawk Savages! (P.S. How the fark did anyone know it was a German Hawk in Calais that chomped poor Mary in the tittie?)
  • Possibly, forensic evidence. By the shape of the wounds, they can deduce what was the shape of the beak that did it. Presumably, there may be no native hawks in Calais (with that shape of beak), so the assumption is that the hawks that did it were brought in by the Germans. /CSI
  • O moon, please light their way, bring safely home all beasts who wandered off today: the pigeon to a hawkless roost the horse to pasture lushly green the dog to fireside with bone and bowl
  • The Mefi response to this was quite depressing. Not that the points weren't valid, but just becaue animals aren't as important as humans, doesn't mean they don't matter at all. A very sweet poem, bees... quite mirrors my own hopes for them.
  • We've just had a new memorial here in Christchurch in the last few months: three bronze corgis to commemorate the Queen's corgis. I think this is far, far more deserving.
  • Have to wonder, tracicle, if one of those three represents the corgi killed by one of Princess Margaret's bull terriers? The memorial to the animals who served in the wars seems similar to the one for the lab animals mentioned in a thread a while ago. A fitting acknowledgement of both groups, anyway, it seems the least humans might do, who compelled the participation of those in these groups.