War dog stories

• Near Danang, a soldier and his war dog, a German shepherd named Bruiser, silently creep forward, searching for any sign that the enemy is near. Bruiser suddenly stops dead in his tracks, his nose up and ears twitching — signaling danger. His handler makes a decision to fire, and seconds later, enemy bullets and grenades rain violently down on the soldiers.

Bruiser's handler, John Flannelly, is gravely wounded. Ignoring Flannelly's orders to leave him on the battlefield, Bruiser drags Flannelly to safety, while taking two rounds in the process. Other brave soldiers die that day, yet with Bruiser's advance warning, many survive — including Flannelly, who was later reunited with Bruiser in a field hospital.

Flannelly later said, "Bruiser saved not only my life, but the lives of the other Marines I was working with. I never would have made it without him. I will never be able to thank him enough. I owe my life to that dog."

• Buck was a German shepherd mixed breed experimental dog developed by the Army. He could smell out the enemy at more than 350 yards, as well as find explosives buried six feet underground. His handler, Dennis H. Jefcoat, tells this story: "On our first mission together in Nam, Buck saved my life by alerting on a trip wire I was about to step onto. From that moment on, my life was completely dependent on him. The combat troops in the field loved Buck, because when he was off patrol duty, he would give every guy a doggy kiss that wanted one and would do flips chasing a frisbee. Buck would bring up the spirits of every GI by protecting, entertaining and, yes, loving every man in every patrol we were assigned to. Buck never lost a man to an ambush, trip wire or pungy pit. Buck was killed when he missed a trip wire. His photograph has always been posted on a wall in every home I have lived in because I owe my existence to that dog's devotion and courage."

• One of the most famous war dogs was Chips, who served in World War II. Chips, donated to the war effort by Edward J. Wren of Pleasantville, N.Y., was trained at Front Royal in Virginia, and was one of the first dogs to be shipped overseas.

Chips was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division and served with that unit in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. His assignments included sentry duty at the Roosevelt-Churchill conference in Casablanca in January 1943.