K9 Veterans Day 2023: Meet Smoky the Yorkie, World War II Veteran

Photo from Military.com

From Military.com

Yorkshire Terrier: Four pounds, seven inches long, Smoky was found in February 1944 after being abandoned in a New Guinea foxhole. She was purchased by Corporal William A. Wynne of Cleveland and backpacked with him all over the Pacific Campaign. Both lived on a diet of spam and C-rations.

Smoky ran on coral ground for months without developing health issues. She also served in the South Pacific with the 5th Air Force, 26th Photo Recon Squadron and flew 12 rescue and photo reconnaissance missions. She was credited with 12 combat missions, awarded 8 battle stars, survived 150 air raids on New Guinea, and made it through an Okinawa typhoon. She even parachuted from 30 feet out of a tree with a custom-made parachute!

She was called by Wynne an “angel from a foxhole” because she saved his life by warning him of incoming shells on an LST. She also pulled a telegraph wire through a 70-foot pipe that was narrow, saving construction time and keeping workers and engineers safe from enemy fire. Smoky died in 1957 at age 14.