Chips (1940–1946) was a trained sentry dog for

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, and reputedly the most decorated

war dog Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in Ancient history, ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, Courier, messengers, mercy dogs, and Tracking (dog), trackers, their uses have been varied and s ...

from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Chips was a

German Shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for ...

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

Malamute The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance to haul heavy freight as a sled dog and hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Can ...

mix owned by Edward J. Wren of

Pleasantville, New York Pleasantville is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located 30 miles north of Manhattan. The village population was 7,019 at the 2010 census. Pleasantville is home to the secondary campu ...

. He was bred by C.C. Moore, and was the son of Margot Jute, a half collie, half German shepherd, and Husky, a malamute. C.C. Moore eventually gifted Chips to the Wren family. Chips immediately grew attached to Wren's daughter, Gail, that he was often seen following her to school every day and laying underneath her desk. During playtime with other children, Chips was known to intervene, pulling the girls away if he thought they were in danger. During the war, private citizens like Wren donated their dogs for duty. Chips shipped out to the War Dog Training Center,

Front Royal, Virginia Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become F ...

, in 1942 for training as a sentry dog. He was one of four dogs assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in

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Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

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and

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. His handler was Pvt. John P. Rowell. Chips served as a sentry dog for the Roosevelt-Churchill conference in 1943. On July 10, 1943, Chips and his handler were pinned down on the beach by an Italian machine-gun team. Chips broke from his handler and jumped into the

pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military) A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, norm ...

, attacking the gunners. The four crewmen were forced to leave the pillbox and surrendered to US troops. "There was an awful lot of noise," Rowell said. "Then I saw one fellow come out the door with Chips at his throat. I called him off before he could kill the man." In the fight, he sustained a scalp wound and powder burns. Later that day, he helped take ten Italians prisoner. For his actions during the war, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

, Silver Star and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

; however, these awards were later revoked due to an Army policy preventing official commendation of animals. His unit unofficially awarded him a theater ribbon with an arrowhead for an assault landing, and

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for each of his eight campaigns. Chips was discharged in December 1945 and returned to the Wren family. In 1990,

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made a TV movie based on his life, entitled ''Chips, the War Dog''. In 2018, Chips was posthumously awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal for his efforts during the war. In 2019, Chips was posthumously awarded the Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery.The Washington Post, "U.S. animals now have a medal for wartime bravery", November 15, 201

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See also