Veterans Day Salute to Our Human & K9 Soldiers ~And~ #LiveGibStrong Epi-Tip #11

November 11, 2015

Veterans Day: A Thank You in Pictures

70th Anniversary of the End of WWII

How It All Began in Our Family...

My all-time favorite photo of my parents at Fort Jay, Governor's Island, NY, circa 1941. My dad was in the U.S. Army's 1st Division ("Big Red One"), and then a second tour with the Rainbow Division.

My parents on their wedding day

December 27, 1941

My Dad with a pup he rescued while serving.

My Dad helping to feed the pup milk.

My Mom joined in the war effort on the homefront and became a "Rosie the Riveter" working as a lathe operator on cannon reamers in the Watervliet Arsenal, New York .

Wolf with my article published in a newspaper from 20 years ago celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the end of WWII. You can see my parents' photo on the right, and my good friend, the late Dick Williams, on the left. Mr. Williams and I served on our city's WWII 50th Commemorative Committee, where I was also the publicity liaison.

Proud veteran, American Legion member, and friend,

Mr. Williams presented me with an award at a county legislative meeting for "Preserving History of WWII, Promoting Future Peace Through Education" for my articles and photographs. A very proud moment for me.

My Mom with my daughter at her elementary school's 50th WWII Commemorative Celebration, where my Mom spoke to the students about WWII, and how women helped out by serving on the homefront in positions vacated by men while they were at war, such as being a "Rosie" and working in an arsenal, like my Mom did. Here grandmother and granddaughter are standing in front of a student-made Wall of Honor featuring stories written by the children of family members who served, including ones on my Dad, my Mom, and her brother, my Uncle, who all served our country in the military and on the homefront.

Military War Dog Veterans...


www.uswardogs.org

Siberian Husky "Buck" - War Dog Ambassador,

Vietnam War

Photo by Herson Whitley. Courtesy of Mary Ann Whitley.

Chips, a Husky, German Shepherd, Collie mix, was the first dog to ship overseas as a Military Working Dog in WWII. He belonged to the Wren Family from Pleasantville, NY. When WWII broke out, U.S. families volunteered their pet dogs into the service as part of the K-9 Corps. Overseas, he trained as a sentry dog and assigned to a Military Police platoon and traveled throughout Europe, and saw fighting in Africa and Sicily. While he served on many missions, he is best known for when he attacked enemy troops who were in a pillbox shelter in Sicily, and even though he was wounded himself, he rushed into the shelter and bravely fought by biting the enemy troops, until they surrendered. Chips even met General Eisenhower!

A Salute to Military War Dog Veterans

The Present...

My Aunt just returned from a trip to France and Normandy where she visited the WWII Museum and the monument on Omaha Beach, where my Dad were among the soldiers who landed on that fateful day in 1941.

Photo courtesy of Carolyn Reis


Photo courtesy of Carolyn Reis

Thank you to all our veterans ~ human and K9 and their handlers ~ for their dedicated service and sacrifice so we can all speak free, worship free, write free...and be free.