The Military Working Dog Teams National Monument: Photo Credit: jbsa.mil - Iditarod EDU
With the celebrations of Patriot Day in September and Veteran’s Day next month, I have been thinking about our military and the brave men and women who help keep our country safe. When it comes to the role of animals in the military, I’m sure many of us think of horses that were used in combat long ago, or dogs that are used to help sniff out danger today. I began to wonder if sled dogs had ever been used during any type of global conflict. After doing some research, I found that they have in fact been used on a number of different occasions. I even discovered that some famous mushers have played a major part in military operations during both world wars. Here is a brief look into the connection between sled dogs and our military.

Famed “All Alaska Sweepstakes” musher Scotty Allen, was the first big name that I came across in my research. The first sweepstakes took place in 1908 and continued every year until 1917 when WWI took centerstage in Alaska. It was because of his prowess in those early races that he was later recruited by the French military to help with an operation involving sled dogs.

In this operation, Allen was asked to help find dogs to help deliver supplies in the mountains of Eastern France where deep snow made it impassable for horses. He was able to find over 100 dogs in the Nome area, and then around 300 more from the Canadian arctic region. Once in France, he helped train 60 teams of dogs, and over 50 men to mush the sleds through the Vosges Mountains. During the mission, his teams hauled ammunition and established communication lines to French soldiers who had been cut off by the Germans. They also helped return wounded soldiers to various field hospitals. As a result, for the first time ever in France, dogs were awarded the Croix de Guerre, which is a highly coveted medal given to those who display acts of heroism during combat.

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