Saturday, September 19, 2009
Remember Museum (photo: Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes)
On the 65th anniversary of Belgium’s liberation from the Nazis by American GIs, Mathilde and Marcel Schmetz decided to unveil a memorial to the animals who “served” in World War II. A monument, sculpted by Frédéric Thomson, depicting a horse, a dog and carrier pigeon, was set up at the Schmetz’s Remember Museum.
The forerunner to it is the Animals in War Memorial near Hyde Park in London. The memorial claims that in addition to Thomson’s trio, mules and donkeys, elephants, camels, oxen, bulls, cats, canaries and even glow worms were enlisted in the war effort.
In her speech, Mathilde Schmetz estimated that upwards of 30 million animals served during World War II. Homing pigeons, particularly in World War I, delivered vital messages, she said. Meanwhile, horses provided strength to move equipment and dogs were used to attack and serve as guards. The U.S. trained about 40,000 dogs for use during the war, the Germans about 200,000, she said.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Museum Erects Memorial for Animals Who ‘Served’ in War (by Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes)
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