GANDER

           Pal was a black Newfoundland dog that weighed 130 pounds. He was beloved by his family and the kids in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, one day Pal accidentally scratched the face of a little girl with his paw. His family feared he would be euthanized, so they gave him to soldiers located nearby at Gander Air Field in Gander, Newfoundland. The unit was the Royal Rifles of Canada and he became their mascot. They renamed him Gander and promoted him to sergeant. He had a collar with the rank of sergeant on it. Gander was very popular with the soldiers. He slept in the barracks. He was given rations as though he was a soldier. They even gave him beer occasionally. He had a kit that included his brush and bowl. His handler was Fred Kelly.

            In 1941, the Royal Rifles took a ship to Hong Kong in anticipation of war with Japan. They took Gander with them. Sure enough, war broke out soon after they arrived. The Japanese marched on Hong Kong and the British and Canadian troops tried to defend the island. Gander went to battle with his comrades. In one incident, he attacked some Japanese soldiers who had landed on a beach. In another, he alerted his unit to the approach of Japanese soldiers sneaking up at night. He rushed them barking and snapping. It being dark, the Japanese saw a huge “black beast” attacking them and ran away. Sadly, a few days later, Gander was guarding some wounded soldiers when a grenade was thrown at the men as they lay on stretchers. Seeing that the men were in danger, Gander picked up the grenade and ran towards the enemy. The grenade exploded, taking the life of the courageous canine. He saved several men’s lives by his self-sacrifice.

            For many years after the war, the Canadian War Museum lobbied for Gander to be awarded the Dickin Medal which was given to animal heroes that served with the British army, navy, air force, and civil defence. On Oct. 27, 2000, Gander was awarded the medal at a ceremony attended by twenty survivors of the Royal Rifles. Fred Kelly received the medal for him. The citation read: “For saving the lives of Canadian infantrymen during the Battle of Lye Mun on Hong Kong Island in December 1941… Twice Gander’s attacks halted the enemy’s advance and protected groups of wounded soldiers. In a final act of bravery, the war dog was killed in action gathering a grenade. Without Gander’s intervention, many more lives would have been lost in the assault.”

His Dickin Medal was the first one awarded in over fifty years. In 2015, a statue of Gander was unveiled in Gander Heritage Memorial Park in Gander, Newfoundland.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gander_(dog)

https://valourcanada.ca/military-history-library/gander-the-dog/

https://www.thenewfoundland.org/gander.html