National War Dog Cemetery

Located in Naval Base Guam, The National War Dog Cemetery is a World War II memorial to war dogs that were killed in service during the 1944 recapture of Guam in the Pacific campaign. The Cemetery features a monument engraved with the names of the war dogs lost in battle, which was dedicated by the United Doberman Club in 1994. Created by Susan Bahary Wilner, a Doberman Pinscher sculpture entitled "Always Faithful", in reference to the Marine Corps motto Semper Fidelis, sits on top of the monument. The monument is surrounded by the headstones of the deceased war dogs and this formation was put together by a U.S. Naval Construction Force known as the Seabees after the headstones were moved from its original location.

After suffering heavy losses in the Guadalcanal campaign, the Marine Corps decided to train dogs to silently alert soldiers of night time battle line infiltrations by the Japanese. At Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Lt. William Putney was assigned to the war dog training company to accomplish this task. About a year later, on July 21st, 1944, the US Marines and their "devil dogs" would participate in the liberation of Guam from Japan. During this battle, the war dogs would prove to be vital in saving numerous lives as they were able to silently warn against enemy attacks and sniff out enemies in hiding. In one skirmish, a war dog named "Kurt" was able to save hundreds of lives by silently warning US marines of Japanese troops awaiting in hiding for an ambush. With each life-saving incident, the war dogs were able to garner the respect and love of the soldiers, creating lifelong bonds that would eventually culminate into the establishment of this monument by those who still remembered them.

The National War Dog Cemetery is a World War II memorial to the 25 war dogs that were killed in service during the 1944 recapture of Guam in the Pacific campaign. Although this is the third burial location for these war dogs, the latest location, monument, sculpture, and memorial are largely the result of a campaign put together by the same Lt. William Putney who had trained and commanded the 2nd and 3rd War Dog Platoon during the invasion of Guam in 1944. During his visit to the island in 1989, he found that the original burial site had been hastily moved to another site, which had subsequently been overtaken by the jungle due to a lack of maintenance and care.

Putney, who remembered the valor and service of the war dogs, lobbied for a proper and permanent reburial for these dogs. In his campaign, he found financial help from the United Doberman Club, who would eventually finance the monument and sculpture. "Kurt", the war dog that saved hundreds of lives from a Japanese ambush and eventually died in Putney's arms in Guam, would become Susan Bahary Wilner's subject in the "Always Faithful" sculpture that sits on top of the monument. With approval from the Pentagon, the remains and headstones of the war dogs would be moved to its current location on Naval Base Guam at Orote Point by the Seabees and on July 21st, 1994, on the 50th anniversary of the battle of Guam, the National War Dog Cemetery was dedicated.

The National War Dog Cemetery is unique as a war dog memorial because the burial plots surrounding the monument contain the actual remains of the dogs that lost their lives in service during the Battle of Guam. It is also the first official military war dog memorial and its dedication in 1994 started a trend in honoring service animals across the country. Replicas of this exact monument also exist in the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine, Alfred M Gray Marine Corps Research Center, Centennial Garden at Auburn University, and AKC Museum of the Dog in St. Louis.

Putney, William W. Always Faithful: A Memoir of the Marine Dogs of WWII. New York, NY. Free Press, 2002.

Stilwell, Blake. The Marine Corps Has a War Dog Graveyard on Guam, American Military History. June 5th 2021. Accessed November 11th 2021. https://www.military.com/history/marine-corps-has-war-dog-graveyard-guam.html.

Williams, Dana. "'The beginning of all of them': Guam's War Dog Memorial started trend of remembering service animals." Pacific Daily News (Guam) July 19th 2021.