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Sunday, November 6, 2016

Lest We Forget



Tales of Animals In War 2016
Watch the above video and open the link and do some research. Tell me three of the most interesting or most important things you learned.

18 comments:

Sam Kuriakose said...

1.Something interesting that I found out was that dogs would send messages across enemy lines to other people. I thought before that only pigeons, eagles and other birds did that job. Also, how the cat wasn’t good at anything except catching mice in the trenches.


2.On the page where they showed all the animals that worked in the war, I saw a worm! I was thinking about how a worm could help? Some of the things I thought of were: sending messages, possibly carrying diseases or food for other animals and soldiers.




3.I found interesting that there were 11,000 graves of the soldiers at the base of Vimy Ridge Memorial. The two columns that make the memorial represent France and Canada. This is because that is where the Canadian soldiers died and the Canadians helped the French drive out the Germans. The memorial was designed by a famous Canadian sculptor named Walter Allward.

Unknown said...

What I wondered was how a cat would help by catching rats in the trenches. How would rats affect the soldiers in any way? I even also wondered how a shark would be helpful in any way? There was no water for the sharks to travel in at WW1 or WW2. I question how marine animals would help the soldiers in WW1 or WW2 since traveling onto the battlefield was a problem.




Another animal I question is miniscule animals such as bees, worms, and even dragonflies? I would expect them not to be able to carry any letters, weapons, and medical supplies. I would want to look into that to learn more.




Lastly I found it interesting how there were 2 unique tall pillars that represented France and Canada since I was informed that only Canadians died, 11,000 of them actually.

beare fashion said...

1. One thing I found interesting in the video was that glowworms were in the war. At first I could not think of a way that they could be in a war but now that I know what they are for I think it is actually really smart! Using Glowworms in the dark so they could read maps and messages without attracting too much attention to themselves.
2. Another thing that surprised me was that cats were in wars. I don’t know how the cat catching rats and mice would do anything for the soldiers.
3. The last thing I found interesting was that not only do dogs sniff out bombs but they carry messages. I thought the army assigned a special person to do that but I guess not.

Unknown said...

Number one. I thought it was interesting when the video said that the dogs carried letters. Wouldn't an enemy solider just shot it because it might be carrying a letter to plan the next attack?

Number two. How were sharks and dolphins helpful? World War 1 wasn't near water but World War 2 was but how would they help they would have to get closer, maybe a lake would take do it but if you trained them to swim up stream the water would gradually get less salter thus making a big impact on them. The only way you could do this is to get a pregnant female, waiting for the babies to be born and right after birth take them out of the salt water and into the fresh water but even then that might not work and the babies could die from the quick exposure.

Number three. I found it interesting that the two pillars represented Canada and France, I always thought that the two pillars were a big eleven with lots of details for Remembrance Day on the eleventh month of the eleventh day of the eleventh hour of the eleventh minute. Well you learn something new every day.

Anderson said...



1)The Dickin Award was created in 1943 it was founded by Maria Dicken founder of People's clinic for ill Animals, is an award for any animal that displaying conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while serving with British Commonwealth armed forces or civil emergency services.' It is the animal's version of the Victoria Cross for people. I found it interesting that someone thought to make an award for animal bravery.


2)John McCrae, the person who wrote “In Flanders Fields,” had a horse, Bonfire, and a dog, called Bonneau with him in France. Bonneau would often accompany McCrae, while he was looking after wounded soldiers. I find it cool that this man had the imagination to make a poem about the poppy field in which many soldiers lie.




3) The Royal Rifles of Canada, got Gander (a Newfoundland Dog) as a mascot when they were stationed in Gander, Newfoundland during WW2. In 1941, The Royal Rifles of Canada were sent, with Gander to defend Hong Kong Island against Japanese attack. Gander was given a Dickin Award after he was killed saving the lives of the Soldiers with him. I find it interesting that this dog that the soldiers just got him as a mascot but he ended up saving their lives.

Unknown said...

One thing I learned is that animals have been in every conflict for the past 2,000 years. That is everything from sky, land, and even sea. It is very sad that they don’t get as much appreciation as the soldiers, because they played just as important roles.


I also learned that even animals you think couldn’t help in any way, could be very helpful. Like Rob the dog, who delivered important messages, and did parachute jumps. He got the Dickin Medal for doing that! That is very interesting. There was also Simon the cat, who caught annoying rats in trenches. Simon also got the Dickin Medal.


An interesting thing I learned is that camels carried wounded men to safety. This is another thing that proves how important animals are in war. There would probably have been a lot more people that died if there wasn’t camels to carry the wounded men back.

Chloe said...

One thing I found interesting is that animals, specifically a horse, can be promoted. In one story, a Korean man sold his horse to the U.S. Marines, and the horse was renamed Reckless. Reckless not only cheered the soldiers up, but she also carried ammunition. During one battle in 1953, she made 51 trips to the front in one day, all under gun fires and bombs from their enemy. She was wounded twice, but kept going with 9,000 pounds of ammunition on her back. She did most of these trips by herself. Because of this, she was promoted to Staff Sergeant. This really surprised me. I didn’t know animals could go from a regular animal, to a Sergeant! It’s really cool that animals that did something amazing, get recognized for it, in a form lots of humans would love to get.


It aso surprised me that cats can help in war. But catching rats is very important and it would be very tough for a human to try to catch a rat. Simon, a cat, was severely injured when the ship he was on was attacked. He wasn’t found for days, but when he was, he was nursed back to good health by a doctor on the ship. He went back to his original job, rat catching, but he also visited the wounded and sick patients to cheer them up. I think that catching unwanted rodents is good, but a cute cat, or dog, could definitely lift a soldier’s spirits. So it makes sense how a cat could help, especially emotionally.


It surprised me when I found out how glowworms helped. I wasn’t sure how such a small, strange animal could help at all. But when I found out how they helped, I was shocked at how genius it is! Using a glowworm’s glow to read maps and important messages and information without being caught, is so smart! The light is bright enough that they can read with it, but still dim enough that they don’t attract any unwanted attention. This is possibly the smartest and most shocking one I’ve read yet.

Unknown said...

1. What I think is interesting is how they used odd animals in war, such as Sharks,
Camels, bees, seals, and others. I am going to research why they used these kinds of animals sometime in the future.


2. It was important to have cats that were rat catchers in the trenches during war. The rats were insane pests spreading illness around. They also got into their food supplies, so the soldiers hired rat catchers. They knew that cats would do well, so they were a big help.


3. It was extremely important for the soldiers to send messages between camps and the such, so this is where dogs come in. they would usually slip the envelope or piece of paper in the dog’s collar, and tell them to go and deliver it. Dogs were also used in WW2 as anti-tank bombs. What they would do was the soldiers would give the dog a bomb and make them carry it to a tank, and then loose the bomb on the tank and run back. This would give an opening for the men to attack.

Unknown said...

Interesting Animals Of War


Mouse: I think the mouse is an interesting animal of war because in the video it shows the cat attacking it so i’m wondering how it could it help?


Bee: I think the bee is an interesting animal of war because how could a bee help? Maybe just stinging the other group.


Dragonfly: I think the dragonfly is an interesting animal of war because how could a small little insect help? Maybe the “dragon” in ti ha some meaning.

Unknown said...

What I found interesting/What I learned:


1. I found it interesting how they used glow worms to read maps and things. I never knew such a small animal could be so helpful.


2. I found it interesting how they used cats to catch the rats in the trenches, they are good at catching little rodents! Simon the cat won a Dickin Medal for catching rats in the trenches because rats were a big problem in the trenches.


3. Something that I found interesting was that they needed to send letters back and forth, so they used dogs. Although I already knew that they used dogs to send letters back and forth during battles and wars, it still interests me. Rob the collie dog won a Dickin Medal for bringing letters back and forth, he also did parachute jumps.

Katie Grant said...

Animals In War


1.) The most interesting thing I learned about animals use in war, was probably about the glow worms. I had no idea they helped so much! They let soldiers read maps, and important messages at night, without attracting the enemy. In World war 1 so many more people would have been caught, and killed if glow worms didn’t give off that soft, blue, green light.

2.)One of the other most interesting things I learned was that not only did animals help in the war, lots of animals were just mascots for the different soldiers from different countries, representing different beliefs.

3.)I think this is definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard about animals. Do you know how in movies sometimes people send pigeons, or different birds to tell someone a message, or give them a gift? Well that actually happened in wars! They had these things called carrier pigeons that got strapped into their “travelling baskets” and brought items, and messages between whomever they were asked to.

Unknown said...



One of the most interesting things I learned is that there are so many animals that have helped with the war effort: for example simon won the Dickin Medal which is a medal for the animals that helped the war effort during world war II.


Another thing that interested me is the fact that they had dogs dropped in on parachutes, I mean how could they get a dog to land on all fours. Plus I am confused on why they would want to get rats to help or what they would help with, plus I thought that rats were bad for the hygiene of the soldiers


Something I found interesting is the fact that animals have been used in wars since the second punic wars. Where Hannibal rode the elephants to the Italian alps. The interesting part is that they have been used for a lot longer than that, but not very often. However, for the past 200 years animals have been used for every conflict air water or land.

Unknown said...

Animals of War




1. When I googled Animals of War I found dolphins, I was very surprised and fascinated that they can help. The website said that they can detect bombs and find enemy divers. Some people call them “Battle Dolphins” and they are still in use to this day.




2. I found it interesting that dogs and cats were used in war. Like how the cat caught rats in the trenches, or how dogs delivered messages and did parachute jumps.




3. I also found it interesting that not only dogs delivered messages but pigeons did too. The homing pigeon saved nearly 200 american soldiers lives by delivering the message that a misdirected artillery barrage was falling on friendly soldiers.

Unknown said...

Three things I thought were cool in the video and website were that I found it interesting that people took animals to the actual monuments.




Another thing that caught my attention was that dogs were used to deliver messages. I always thought that pigeons delivered messages and dogs were used to find the enemy.



One last I thought was interesting was that people hadn’t used trenches in wars except for world war one.

WAULIGI said...

Animals important to war included:




1.The dog: This animal was important for sending messages quickly and sometimes even doing sky drops. I would love to have a dog that can do that.




2.The cat: This animal was important because they kept the ships and trenches rodent free and boosted morale. Even today they are used to get rid of rats on ships.




3.The glowworm: This animal was important because it kept the soldiers undetected while they read maps or letters so they don’t get killed in the night by the enemy.



As you can see all these animals are important in their one way and were all useful and interesting to

Ethan Barry said...

Top 3:




3.I think one of the surprising things is that all those Canadians fought in the war and there was no known graves. The fact that this happened is so weird and depressing. Nobody can know any identities of Canadians that aren’t related to them who fought in that war.




2. I think it’s really cool how a dog can parachute and deliver messages ✉. I think they either built parachutes for dogs or used little parachutes. And I think that they made a little pouch for the dog but, how can they train the dog to go to a house and make them pull the note out? I don’t know but, it's really surprising




1. I think it’s interesting that from the year 16, animals were involved in every conflict. It’s because animals were more energetic and had more stamina than humans. (but probably not as smart.)

Unknown said...

Animals in War



I learned that dogs were used to lay telephone wires on the ground. I also find this sad because I know it was muddy and tens of thousands of troops died laying wires. Would it not be way too risky to put a smaller animal that may be more easily frightened and more likely to die?

I found out that glow worms were used as a light source to help the men in the trenches read in instead of normal lights so that the enemy could not see them. But how would they read if they were being bombarded?

Most surprising of all, canaries were used to detect poisonous gas in in world war 1. I find it interesting that canaries could be used because I thought that they would be too small to carry messages. I wonder if they died soon after?

Unknown said...

1. I never knew that slugs could help during a war. By the time soldiers figured out that there were mustard gases in the air, it was often to late. But the slug could tell if there were mustard gases in the air well before the soldiers did. The soldiers would see the slug start closing its breathing pores and compressing its body. Then they would put on their gas masks.


2. I never knew that pigs could be helpful during war. In war, the soldiers sometimes used elephants. A pig's squeal would scare an elephant. Sometimes the pigs were set on fire :( to make them squeal really loud. The enemy's elephants would be terrified and would run away, possibly stepping on their own masters.


3. I didn’t know that hawks could help during a war. Pigeons were often used during war to carry messages between soldiers. The hawk would fly up and catch the pigeon before it could get the message to its destination.