Toni thank you for joining us today. Im excited to talk about loyal forces. Lindsay barnes and i coauthored this book that was published in 2013. We did it after an exhibition on the larger topic of animals in war that we had at the museum. For the book, we narrow the focus just to talk about the u. S. Military and the use of animals throughout the war. I will talk about four main animals today and if we have some time, i will try to get in some other fun topics as well. We will talk about mules, dogs, pigeons and horses. We will go to the first slide on mules. Although they are often looked down upon because of their stubborn natures, the phrase tough as a government mule is one we are probably familiar with. They are hardworking and widely used in the military, both before world war ii and during the war. They really did prove vital in some areas. Why use mules . They have a sturdy nature and are very surefooted. They were vital on some of the rugged terrains that were impassable by military vehicles. They require less grain than horses and are a more dependable work animal. They are quite intelligent, which is contrary to popular belief. It is there intelligence that their intelligence that helps them recognize their own limits of strength and endurance. The quality sometimes read as stubbornness is a form of selfpreservation. Unlike horses, mules will not work themselves to death. During world war i, the army used mules by the hundreds of thousands and kept nearly 80,000 after world war i. As the u. S. Military became warm the use ofanized, mules declined. But as the troops were working through the terrain of north africa and italy, and in china and burma india cbi theatre, mules would prove vital and the army would procure local mules in italy and buy 14,000 more during the war. According to a manual, this is what it says about mules. A pack mule should be a 14 3 4 hands 15 1 2 hands in height. He should be compact, built and have a short, straight, well muscled back. Straight, strong legs, straight pasterns and good feet. If that wasnt enough, mules were also picked on personality. They needed composure, quietness, calmness. These traits were also important you would have hundreds of mules moving together to narrow pathways and in intimidating jungles. The u. S. Military selected mule skinners based on their knowledge. Mule handlers based on whether they were kind and firm. They were expected to train mules with positive reinforcement. They strictly prohibited things like sticks, switches or items that might instill fear in the mule. All of the mules were trained to be ridden, led, stand quietly, or walk, stand fully packed, move in a herd, swim, and they also had to be immersed in the sounds of battle. Battle inoculation was key to making sure the mules did not panic when they encountered loud noises. They would be worked in and around motor parks that would allow them to become familiar with the smell of gasoline and the sound of engines. They were aircraft and gunfire. The animals learned that the noises around them would not hurt them and as a result, when they encountered them, they remained calm. In all units, the most welltrained mule was deemed the bell mare and lead pack mule could she wore a special bell and the other mules were trained to follow the bell mare through any conditions. If she climbed the hill, they climbs the hill if she swim the river, they swim the river. They actually used the pack saddle you see in this photograph. It was used for all kinds of pack loads, artillery, equipment, even ones that were the heaviest weapons cargo loads as well. By itself, it weighs 72 pounds, and when you would add the attachments it would take for the different kinds of loads, it could weigh 95 pounds alone. It can hold up to 300 pounds of cargo. 300 mules carrying 300 pounds each, one pack unit could carry 45 tons, a lot of material. During world war ii, mules worked around the world. Armies. Allied and axis they served in africa and italy, but formed the decisive backbone in the chinaburmaindia theater. This was one of the most geographically challenging in which soldiers suck world war ii. That was a place where mules proved themselves even more versatile than a jeep. Themost famous pack unit in force. S the mars pack were a really successful and selfsufficient military unit. Selfsufficient because the cargo loads they supported in the field with the artillery sixth battalion, they had traveling medical and veterinary mule within the pack strain. It was really the ultimate proof of the animals importance and a mechanized army, because the mobility of the mules in rough terrain was more important than speed. And you can see if you follow , the white line in the photograph, you can see how long the mule train is in the jungle. The mars the task force was the second of 2 longrange penetration units that fought behind japanese lines in burma. Its job was to function behind the lines deep in the jungles of the mountains of southwest asia and protect and keep chinese supply routes going. The u. S. Really wanted to continue to keep Japanese Forces occupied in china as much as they possibly could. From any vantage, this terrain was intimidating, and it was impossible for most motorized vehicles to cross. These strong, surefooted mules were needed to carry artillery on the mountain trail, sometimes in single file like the previous picture. The only way these men could operate behind enemy lines was they received supplies by airdrop. You can see parachutes falling here. Except for these planes, these were the only mechanized transportation available. These mules were the only reliable means of movement and supplies. Sorry, can you go back no, stay where you are. So one of the mule skinners, material we have in our collection is hiram boone. He was born in 1921 in virginia. He want to work in a gun factory when he graduated high school. At the age of 22, he decided to join the army. He was inducted in the army on september 23, 1943. He was first sent to fort sill, oklahoma for basic training and artillery training. He worked specifically with the 75 millimeter pack howitzer and mules. He moved to camp gruber, oklahoma, where he joined the 612 field battalion where he was assigned to the headquarters and service battery. Here he did further training with the 75 millimeter pack howitzer and mules. As they prepared for burma, they did not know where they were headed, but they knew they would be fighting and mountainous conditions. They trained specifically in the rapid unpacking of the artillery and piecing it together for combat. The history we have with him, he said a gun could be unloaded in a matter of minutes and be in firing position. They trained really hard to get that down. Reached calcutta in september, 1944. They would get on about boat, come down the Mississippi River through the port of new orleans, to the Atlantic Coast on a boat with mules with them. ,from that Atlantic Court until they got to india 63 days across , the atlantic, through the mediterranean, the suez canal, the red sea and indian ocean before they arrived in india. So they spent a long time with these animals on this boat. His job in the field was to collect ammunition, food and other supplies from the airdrop i have described. He had to be in a certain location on a given day to reach the dropped goods before japanese found them. All of the supplies were loaded onto the pack mules to be carried out of the drop zone. Artillery, ammunition, including the 75 millimeter artillery rounds, and rations were dropped by parachute. And the mule dropped, no parachute. It was packed loosely enough it would not burst on impact, the mule feed. All these materials came from the United States and were airdropped, typically from c 47s. His personal riding mount was his mule, chick. They traveled together all the way to china. They were assigned together at camp landis. Boone groomed him every day in addition to other duties. He said of the mars mules, they are smart, much smarter than horses. They will not over drink, not overeat, not overwork. They are superior and rough terrain to a horse and actually smarter than a horse. He held them in good regard. At the end of the war, the mules were slated to be handed over to the chinese military, but many of them had contracted a fatal disease. Called sura. They had to be put down. Boone said at the end of his oral history, i did want to praise this mule and i frankly think mules and other animals did not receive and have not received the recognition they are entitled to because they all did pay the supreme sacrifice. Some of the pictures you saw in presentation are ones boone himself took and donated to the museum. It was really amazing to me when i started to do the research for the exhibition and ultimately the book, that i learned about the u. S. Not having a War Dog Program until world war ii. We think of dogs today is a as a basic tool of military and police work that we hardly question their ability to smell bombs or drugs or the prosciutto you are not supposed to bring back from europe. At the start of the war, the u. S. Only had sled and pack dogs in the military. Other countries in europe had been using dogs successfully in world war i. The french and belgians, germans, as messengers, medics and pack animals. But there was some forward thinking. Military and enthusiastic dog fanciers really felt the u. S. Military should undertake a war Dog Training Program. They really were able to perceive some of the ways dogs could be useful in combat and noncombat situations. One of the first things they had to do was recruit dogs. In 1942, dogs for defense was formed, and everyday people would volunteer their own dogs for service. If those dogs cleared in Health Checks and intelligence checks, they were sent on to be trained as war dogs. You could support the war dog fund financially as well as volunteering your dog. We have a couple of dog tags. For the war dog fund. As well as certificates for donating to the fund. There were four main types of war dogs. Scouts and sentry dogs, messenger dogs, attack dogs, and roving or scout dogs. There was also a fifth type. Mine detection dogs. Today we think of that as a basic element of what working dogs do, but at the outset of the program, no one realized they could train dogs to smell for explosives. Rather, they were trained to look for disturbances on the ground. Unfortunately, this did not work very well and the mdog, mine dog program was deemed a failure. Attack dogs, similarly, or also victims of a bad program. They did not use positive reinforcement, they were trained with negative methods. They did not turn out to be a big success as the military had hoped. They were sometimes used as a supplement to a guard dog or if someone who was a threat to a guarded facility. But the real heart of the Dog Training Program was sentry dogs. All of the dogs were trained to be sentries, but some dogs got more extensive training in other areas. The overall training was less intense than other working dogs. They needed to be moderately intelligent, willing, and somewhat aggressive. Sentry dogs were trained to accompany military and civilian patrols in various conditions and to give a warning through barking or growling at the approach of another person. And probably something that many of us are familiar with is the use of dogs as messengers. Messenger dogs could carry a message four to five times faster than a soldier on foot. Dogs have a much lower profile than humans, making them harder to locate and more challenging to shoot. The equipment the dogs needed was minimal. Only a small canister around the neck or a pouch tied around the body of the dog. They were the only dogs trained with two handlers. This way the dog would know who to seek out to deliver the message. One of the most famous war dogs was the messenger dog, caesar. He was a german shepherd. He served during the bougainville campaign. Caesar was with n company of the third marine raider battalion. Their job was to hold a roadblock on the because of the dense foliage, radios were unable to send or receive signals, and caesar provided a Vital Communications link and completed 11 messenger missions. Caesar was not only an accomplished messenger dog, but also valuable as a sentry dog. Three days into the campaign caesar rushed out of the foxhole he shared with one of his handlers, private first class mail. Mayo called the dog back. As he was returning, a japanese sniper shot caesar. A firefight ensued, but caesar had disappeared. He was later found with his other handler. Private first class john kleeman. The bullet hit too close to his heart to operate, but despite his wounds, caesar survived and returned to duty three weeks later. Although injured and scared, his loyalty to his handlers saved him and warned others of how close the japanese soldiers were. But it is really the scout or roving patrol dogs, that changed the way the military and serviceman thought about dogs in the military. These dogs were some of the most highly trained in the military, used primarily in the pacific. They would walk up to 25 yards in front of a column of marines or soldiers and when they sensed an enemy soldier it would give a signal or alert to its handler. This signal or alert was key, because it had to be silent. So handlers and dogs were paired together during basic training, and they spent their whole military lives together, essentially, because the dog and handler had to know each other very well and have a lot of trust in one another. There are a lot of stories about dog men being made fun of by other marines and soldiers. You get one instance like i described with caesar, and they often did earn the respect of those around them. You can see some doberman pinschers here, often used by the marine corps in the pacific. By having the dogs ahead of the column, they would then be able to sense an enemy presence before the main body of the soldiers or marines would walk through. So, kurt was a doberman pinscher whose bravery saved the lives of 250 marines on guam. He alerted to japanese soldiers lying in wait on a jungle hillside above assan point. His handler was alan gibson. They killed two japanese soldiers before a shell exploded near them. The japanese soldiers were part of a much larger force, and kurts discovery kept them from regiment,t marine from stumbling directly into the main body. Unfortunately, the shell tore a section out of kurts back and surgery was impossible. He suffered before he succumbed to his wounds. His sacrifice led to his likeness being cast in bronze to memorialize all of the dogs that gave their lives for the liberation of guam. You can see this monument that stands there with the names of many other dogs gave their lives for that liberation. Dogs for defense obtained 18,000 dogs during the three years it was in charge of procurement. For the quartermaster corps. In all, over 10,000 dogs were trained for war and nearly 3000 dogs were sent overseas. Dogs proved to be an invaluable resource in the pacific and the home front. When the dogs were recruited, the owners were promised if they made it through the war, they would be returned to them. And that promise proved difficult to fulfill. The army did not anticipate the thousands of hours of retraining and demilitarization training it would cost to fulfill such a promise. But through the work of lieutenant William Putney and a major, the dogs were given that demilitarization training and sent home. So, homing pigeons. Believe it or not, we still used pigeons in world war ii. One of the oldest means of Long Distance communication, were widely used. They are a specific type of domestic pigeon derived from the rock pigeon and not like the sort of feral pigeons any of us are familiar with in our cities. Believe it or not, the earliest use of pigeons for communications was with the romans 2000 years ago. Their ability to carry important messages has not really diminished in that time. Even before japans attack on pearl harbor, the American Military had begun ramping up its Communication Program with the Army Signal Corps. During the war, Carrier Pigeons were used in almost every theater by almost every army, axis and ally. About a dozen pigeon units were activated during the war and the Army Signal Corps had about 3000 soldiers and 150 officers assigned to the pigeon service. They cared for more than 54,000 pigeons and 36,000 of those were deployed overseas. The pigeons were used in all of the combat theaters and saw service with ground troops, on submarines, in bombers, and with the intelligence service. In an astounding rate of success signal corps soldiers received , more than 90 of the army messages sent by pigeons. That is a pretty good rate. Pigeons often had to accomplish their missions under difficult conditions. Bad weather, night flying, different home lofts. Bullet showers, and even attacks from enemy birds of prey. Thousands of soldiers and airmen and sailors owe their lives to these small animals. And the pigeons were trained to deliver their messages when all other means had failed. In 1943, as a means of communication they formed less than 1 of the signal corpss overall services. However, even if the army moved toward total mechanization, the birds remained valuable as they were considered an undetectable method of communication. They were used especially when other means of sending messages failed or were not feasible, such as radio failure or when troops were under orders for radio silence. Pigeons were an important part of war communications where stringing wire was impossible, like the jungles of guadalcanal. There were also equally important for paratroopers who frequently had little or no Radio Communications from their drop men. Pigeons would bring news from the drop zone swiftly without revealing the location of the soldiers. Pigeons were dropped via specially made parachutes or inside bamboo boxes or containers, and you can see here an eight bird container. That would be dropped by parachute. They had to be put in these containers. Otherwise when they were let they would fly home. Out of the aircraft they would fly home. The soldiers could collect , pigeons, attach the messages, and then send them back with the communication. The previous slide was message book in one of the capsules that would be used. Since they were so successful, very few of these messages were encoded. They were so dependable at returning home that they did not worry about the messages getting into enemy hands. And although their talents are wellknown, the truth is we dont know a lot about how pigeons always managed to know how to go home. We do know that it takes, it really does start with training at a young age. And that there