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11-27-2005, 02:54 PM | #1 |
Got Yorkies? Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: S.E. Mo
Posts: 1,602
| WW II mascot Smokey I found this pic on ebay?? Anyone know the story of Smokey??? I would love to know!
__________________ She-Ra Marie ~ 9-22-02 to 2-22-06 Dixie Belle ~ 10-12-2006 to 12-13-2008 You girls left us way to soon. I miss you both. |
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11-27-2005, 02:55 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 7000 Club Member | Oh my gosh!! I have that story in my book about Yorkies, but I can't find the book!!!! I'll look for it!
__________________ Megan "I have my dreams, I have made plans." - The Pirate Queen All Gave Some; Some Gave All |
11-27-2005, 03:01 PM | #3 |
Crazy about Kacee! Donating Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Kansas
Posts: 21,173
| Local man's dog prompts war memorial MANSFIELD -- Veterans of every war have their monuments, and now Smoky is getting one too. Smoky was a Yorkshire dog of war, found during World War II in the South Pacific and cared for by Bill Wynne of Harlan Road. On Friday, a monument to dogs of war, inspired by Smoky's story, will be dedicated at Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Reservation Memorial Field. It is located just south of Detroit Road in Lakewood along the Rocky River Valley Parkway. The dedication is set for 2 p.m. Wynne will be there along with Vietnam Marine veteran James Strand of Eastlake. Strand read Wynne's 1996 book on Smoky, "Yorkie Doodle Dandy,'' and decided the little dog was a war hero. He convinced the Cleveland Metroparks board that their park is where that monument should be. "We managed to raise $31,000 to have it built,'' Wynne said. Wynne, 83, was an Army aerial photographer whose buddy found Smoky, a purebred Yorkshire terrier, in the jungles of New Guinea. He sold her to Wynne for two Australian pounds. "She was about 10 months old and never weighed more than four pounds,'' Wynne said. Where Wynne went, Smoky went too -- from New Guinea to Biak, to Luzon, Okinawa and Korea. The pair also went to Australia on leave. "That's where she became a therapy dog. At the Red Cross' request we went to hospital wards,'' he said. Smoky was a hit. After the war, in a civilian hospital, Smoky inspired a catatonic patient to reach for her and utter his first sounds in two years. Smoky's great military moment came on Luzon at a recently captured Japanese air strip. "The engineers needed to put down a telephone line to link the field with outside help in case the Japanese came back,'' Wynne said. To do that, the engineers would have had to tear up a taxi strip where American fighters could safely be parked under palm trees where Japanese airmen couldn't find them. There was a 72-foot long drain line under that strip and Smoky pulled a small line through it so the engineers could eventually drag a heavier phone line through it and save tearing up the field. "I just made them promise they would dig Smoky out in case she got trapped in there,'' Wynne said. Smoky performed admirably. When the war ended, Smoky came home with Wynne to Cleveland. For the next 12 years the pair would be inseparable and even go into show business together as part of a television show on Channel 3 called "Castles in the Air.'' Wynne said Smoky could be taught to perform endless tricks. The little Yorkie could walk a tightrope, climb ladders and peddle a scooter. Just a few of her show business tricks. Smoky died in 1957 at the age of 14. Wynne wanted war dogs remembered and with Jim Strand's help met sculptor Susan Bahary who created the "Always Faithful" war dog sculpture placed at a Navy base on Guam in memory of 25 military dogs who died in combat during WWII. Wynne's war-time photo of Smoky sitting inside his G.I. helmet for Yank Magazine was famous during World War II and that is how Bahary pictures her in the new Smoky and All Dogs of War monument in Lakewood. http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/...511110318/1002
__________________ Karen Kacee Muffin 1991-2005 Rest in Peace My Little Angel |
11-27-2005, 03:01 PM | #4 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Rockland county, NY
Posts: 1,306
| If I'm not mistaken, a journalist attached to a US division in WWII came across this little Yorkie while he was covering the war and the two quickly became inseparable. The little Yorkie was so small he used to sleep in this journalist helmet. All the guys in the division fell in love with this little dog and I think, the story goes that his little guy was instrumental in getting some tanks across a road that was filled with land minds. This Yorkie was in the middle of combat and when the journalist was finished with his assignment and sent home he took his little dog back to the USA. He is the most famous Yorkie known today.. and I can't think of his name
__________________ ********************* Nedda & My Girls Desi & Millie & my boy Ricky |
11-27-2005, 03:25 PM | #5 |
Currently Suspended! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location:
Posts: 144
| Bill Wynne is on another Yorkie list. he will answer questions about Smokey. Also look for his book....."Yankee Doodle Dandy"....it is the story of Smokey during the war and her life of show biz after the war. Bill's daughter Marsha is also on the internet.....I have not seen her post in a long time....Marsha says the ONLY time she ever saw her Dad cry was when Smokey died. She has also told some tales of growing up with Smokey......Smokey was ruler of the house....a 4 pound giant! The war memorial to the dogs was taken down some years ago. I believe it was a Vietnam vet...along with Bill Wynne....who was instrumental in getting the memorial replaced in the national park....not far from where Smoky lived and where she was buried in the park near Cleveland. Bill Wynne also has a musem deciated to Smokey. d |
11-27-2005, 03:31 PM | #6 |
Princess Poop A Lot Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Colorado
Posts: 6,728
| It really is a wonderful story to read and I bought my used off of amazon.com. If I am not mistaken I think I read somewhere who the original owner was. She and her husband lived on the islands before the war broke out. I believe they were from Europe or England...but then again I might have dreamt all of this....
__________________ Cindy & The Rescued Gang Puppies Are Not Products! |
11-27-2005, 04:33 PM | #7 |
Monte, Mone't's Joy! Donating Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: MD
Posts: 3,009
| That story is in my Yorkie book also...It is a hard back book, with a white cover and red trimming..
__________________ "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."!! Mone't Mom 2 Monte |
11-27-2005, 04:35 PM | #8 |
BANNED! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: USA
Posts: 9,999
| I have that story in my Yorkie book too, Its a nice story. |
11-27-2005, 04:36 PM | #9 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tucson, Arizona
Posts: 1,840
| Smoky (no "e" in the spelling") was a female yorkie found in a foxhole in New Guinea during WWII. Bill Wynne, a US soldier bought her from the guy who found her, and he trained her to do all sorts of tricks. She won a magazine photo contest for war mascots (the photo that is posted at the top of this thread) and became quite a celebrity. She was elevated to war hero status after she pulled some roper through a culvert under a runway so that electrical wires could be pulled through. (If she had not done this, they would have had to dig up the runway, and the outfit would have been vulnerable to air attack for several days---Smoky probably saved lives by doing this job). Smoky returned to the US after the war, and died at age 12 (I think) in Ohio. Bill Wynne was very devoted to her, and they even had a local TV show involving training dogs. Bill wrote a lovely book "Yorkie Doodle Dandy" that gives the whole story of Smoky. I bought it from him, and he even autographed it to me and Edie (my Yorkie). Mr. Wynne is a real gentleman, and he has a delightful writing style. Recently, (this year) a bronze statue was placed in the park where Smoky is buried. It is a likeness of her in the helmet, just like the photo above. Smoky was bathed every day in that helmet during WWII. Fleas were a real concern--thus the daily bathing. I highly recommend the book--there are some surprises about her origin that I will leave it to you to read. GET THE BOOK---the photos and the story are just great.... |
11-27-2005, 07:56 PM | #10 |
Got Yorkies? Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: S.E. Mo
Posts: 1,602
| Oh, WOW!!! I would love to have that book!!! I am soooo glad you guys shed some light on this for me!!
__________________ She-Ra Marie ~ 9-22-02 to 2-22-06 Dixie Belle ~ 10-12-2006 to 12-13-2008 You girls left us way to soon. I miss you both. |
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