Marine War Dogs - Triangle VA
N 38° 32.604 W 077° 20.505
18S E 295914 N 4268708
Cast from the original 'Always Faithful' memorial on Guam, a monument at the Marine Corps Heritage Center in Triangle, VA commemorates the 25 working dogs who died during the Battle of Guam in 1944 and stands in memory of all Marine war dogs.
Waymark Code: WMGKJM
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/16/2013
Views: 6
Semper Fidelis Memorial Park
at the Marine Corps Heritage Center in Triangle, Virginia, near Quantico MCB sits on 23 acres and has a series of walkways with memorial bricks, commemorative benches, rally points, and monuments erected in honor of various Marine Corps units and organizations.
Among the monuments stands a shiny black granite slab with a statue of Kurt, a Doberman, commemorating the 25 Marine war dogs who died in the line of duty during the liberation of Guam in 1944. The memorial also stands in honor and memory of all the Marine Corps war dogs who have died in faithful service.
The Marine Corps used dogs as sentries, messengers and scouts. They carried messages and medical supplies, sniffed out hiding enemy soldiers and warned of forthcoming attacks. Most of the dogs were Dobermans and slept in the foxholes with their handlers.
Kurt was the first canine casualty in the Battle of Guam. He saved the lives of many Marines when he warned them of an upcoming Japanese Banzai attack of 5000 soldiers. During the assault, Kurt and his handler, Pvt. Allen Jacobsen, were seriously wounded. Pvt. Jacobsen would not accept treatment until Kurt was carried to the rear where he died in the arms of 1st Lt. William Putney, a veterinarian and the commanding officer of the 3rd War Dog Platoon, who tried to save him.
All the dogs who were KIA were buried in a Marine cemetery on Guam. Later headstones were added. In the late 1980s, William Putney returned to Guam and found the dog cemetery had been moved and in disarray. He helped raise funds to have the dogs properly buried, and the National War Dog Cemetery was opened at the U.S. Naval Base at Orote Point. Putney also raised funds for the 'Always Faithful' monument to be installed at the cemetery in honor of the dogs. Artist Susan Bahary was commissioned to do the sculpture of Kurt. It was dedicated in 1994. (Pictures of the original monument and cemetery can be seen here
.)
There have been a handful of castings of the original war dog monument and memorial dedications in the United States. In the winter of 2013, Gen. Carl Epting Mundy, Jr. Ret., 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps, donated a proof of the 'Always Faithful' monument to the Marine Corps Heritage Center where it was erected near the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel.
Inscription on front:
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE 25 MARINE WAR DOGS
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES LIBERATING GUAM IN 1944.
KURT
SKIPPER
NIG
MISSY
BLITZ
BURSCH | YONNIE
PONCHO
PRINCE
CAPPY
ARNO
PEPPER | KOKO
TUBBY
FRITZ
DUKE
SILVER
LUDWIG | BUNKIE
HOBO
EMMY
MAX
BROCKIE
RICKIE | | TAM (BURIED AT SEA OFF ASAN POINT) |
AND TO THE MANY OTHERS WHO HAVE SINCE GIVEN THEIR
LIVES IN THE WARS OF OUR NATION.
TO THE CORPS THEY SERVED SO DEVOTEDLY, AND TO THE
MARINES WHO ACCOMPANIED THEM IN COMBAT, MANY OF
WHOM OWE THEIR LIVES TO THE BRAVERY AND SACRIFICE
OF THESE GALLANT ANIMALS, THEY WERE TRULY
Always Faithful |
Inscription on back:
"ALWAYS FAITHFUL" WAS INSPIRED BY THE SPIRIT OF THESE HEROIC DOGS WHO
ARE THE EMBODIMENT OF LOVE AND DEVOTION.
Susan Bahary, Sculptress
THE FIRST CASTING OF THIS MONUMENT RESTS IN THE
WAR DOG CEMETERY IN GUAM, PLACED THERE BY THE
SURVIVING MARINES OF THE 2ND AND 3RD WAR DOG
PLATOONS AND DEDICATED ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF
THE LIBERATION OF THE ISLAND BY CAPTAIN WILLIAM W.
PUTNEY, DVM, COMMANDING OFFICER, 3RD MARINE CORPS
WAR DOG PLATOON.
THIS MONUMENT IS PLACED IN MEMORY OF ALL MARINE
WAR DOGS IN PERPETUAL GRATITUDE FOR THEIR SERVICE
AND SACRIFICE TO OUR CORPS AND COUNTRY BY
30TH COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS AND HIS LADY
GENERAL AND MRS. CARL MUNDY
Semper Fidelis |
Reference:
Additional Link: