Like many soldiers, my Father, a farm boy and lover of animals, adopted a little black dog while overseas. While the dog was claimed by the entire unit, he seemed to spend a lot of time inside my Father’s jacket to stay warm and dry.
The little black dog had been wounded in the crossfire. After nursing him back to health, Brownie became their unofficial mascot.
My Father loved sharing the story of Brownie, probably more than any other memory from his time overseas. It was a way of minimizing the hard times, and focusing on a few brief joyful moments. This was a short anecdote he shared about Brownie. I hope you enjoy! — Harrison Woodard
Hollis H Woodard
Brownie
My unit served in Italy, France, and Germany during World War 2. While we were in Italy, one of our boys picked a little dog that had been hit by shell fragments and had nursed it back to where it could look after itself. It stayed with our Company and was a pet to all the boys.
He made the ocean trip from Italy to Southern France with our Company and was still with us during the Winter of 1944-45.
The boys in our Company found an abandoned beer hall and converted it into a dining hall so that our Company could eat inside out of the bad weather. A new Captain assigned to the outfit wanted to take credit for this undertaking and invited our Colonel over for an inspection.
While they were looking over the hall, our devoted canine decided to make an inspection as well. When the new Captain saw the dog he yelled,
“I’m going to kill that damn dog!”
Fortunately, Brownie was a favorite of the Colonel, who rather quickly defended his pet,
“You leave that dog alone. He is as much a part of this outfit as you are. And the men think a hell of a lot more of him than you!”
The End
Note: I can remember at least one photograph with my Father and Brownie. But for some reason that picture has disappeared. If and when it turns up, I will add it here.
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