In World War II, the U.S. employed every resource at their disposal to help win the war, including using military dogs. One of those K9s was Chips.

Chips was donated to the military in 1942. The pup was a German Shepherd, collie, and husky mix. Every bit as intelligent as he was brave.

Facing the German Head On

Chips worked with his handler, Pvt. John Rowell. Both were a part of the invasion of Sicily in 1943. It was here that Chips displayed life-saving actions of bravery.

On the beach, Chips attacked a machine gun that was firing at Allied service members. The fire from the gun was keeping all of the soldiers stuck in their current locations.

Chips went into the German soldier’s gun nest. He bit the soldiers and pulled the gun down from its base. He also pulled a German soldier out by his neck, dragging him away from his hiding spot.

The rest of the German soldiers decided to exit with their hands up.

Minor Injuries

Since the gun was hot when Chips attacked, he did get some minor injuries. The pup had some wounds to his scalp and some burns. Ten German soldiers were captured that day.

For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal. The award was accepted on his behalf by John Wren, 76, whose father had donated Chips.

Wren grew up with the dog after he was released from duty after three years. Wren was four years old when Chips came home.

“It has taken over seven decades, but Chips can now finally take his place in the history books as one of the most heroic dogs to serve with the U.S. Army.” 

PDSA director general Jan McLoughlin

This brave pup had previously been awarded the Silver Star, a Distinguished Service Cross, and a Purple Heart. However, awarding animals military medals became highly contested, and the military stopped.

Additional Service

Chips also had the honor of being a guard dog for a meeting between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was also noted that in 1945 when he met General Dwight D. Eisenhower, he bit him.

Eisenhower was attempting to pet Chips to thank him for his service. However, Eisenhower did not know that Chips had been trained to bite those he did not know.

Chips died seven month after returning home from the war.

Source: Inside Edition