SCIENCES

Smoky the Brave: How a Feisty Yorkshire Terrier Mascot Became a Comrade-in-Arms During World War II

by Damien Lewis
Da Capo: Perseus. Dec. 2018. 320p. photos. ISBN 9780306922541. $28; ebk. ISBN 9780306922565. PETS
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War dog chronicler Lewis (The Dog That Could Fly; Judy: A Dog in a Million) recounts the true story of another heroic World War II canine. During the Pacific War in New Guinea, a tiny four-pound Yorkshire terrier was discovered hiding in a foxhole in the jungle by a non-dog-loving soldier. The soldier then sold the little dog for $2 to Corporal Bill Wynne, an air crew member from a photo reconnaissance squadron, who named her Smoky. Although Smoky was never an "official" World War II war dog, she accompanied Wynne in several air/sea and photo reconnaissance missions and helped engineers who were building an airfield by digging soil in a narrow pipe for a telegraph wire. Probably her biggest contribution was cheering up and boosting morale by performing tricks for hospitalized soldiers: the forerunner of a therapy dog.
VERDICT While Lewis contributes another well-researched biography to the war dog genre, this book is only needed where interest in World War II history is high.
Reviewed by Eva Lautemann, Stone Mountain, GA , Aug 01, 2018
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