May 23, 2026

Animals Who Were There: 14 Stories From Wartime

From pigeons and ship cats to dogs, bears, and mascots, these are real stories of animals who lived through war alongside the people around them.

Wars are usually remembered through people, places, and battles, but animals were there, too. Some animals carried messages, some hunted rats aboard ships, some warned people when danger was near, some provided docking support, and others stayed close to the people around them through long stretches of uncertainty.

These are stories of animals who served during wartime, and of animals who were simply there and never left.

1. Cher Ami

During World War I, when communication lines failed and runners could not get through, pigeons often became the last option left.

In October 1918, more than 500 men of the US 77th Division became trapped behind enemy lines during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Attempts to reach headquarters failed one after another until only a single pigeon remained, and that pigeon was Cher Ami.

Despite severe injuries, Cher Ami carried a message that ultimately helped save nearly 200 soldiers.

→ Read how Cher Ami helped save the Lost Battalion

2. Simon

In 1948, a young sailor found a thin kitten wandering the docks of Hong Kong and quietly brought him aboard HMS Amethyst.

Months later, the ship came under heavy fire on China's Yangtze River. Simon was injured alongside the crew but eventually returned to work, hunting rats and helping keep spirits afloat during months of isolation.

→ Read Simon's story aboard HMS Amethyst

3. Judy

Judy was a British ship's dog who later became the only dog officially registered as a prisoner of war.

In the Pacific, she survived bombings, shipwrecks, prisoner camps, and long periods of uncertainty. For the people around her, she became far more than a mascot.

→ Read how Judy became the only dog officially registered as a POW

4. Wojtek

A bear cub bought from a shepherd in Iran eventually joined the Polish Army and crossed Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Italy.

At Monte Cassino, he carried ammunition crates under fire and later became one of the most recognizable wartime animals in history.

→ Read how Wojtek became a Corporal

5. Bush

Pilots at an RAF airfield often found a German Shepherd waiting near the runway.

Bush watched planes leave and greeted them when they returned. Some believed he sensed when someone would not be coming back.

→ Read Flying Officer Bush's story

6. Bing

A parachute-trained dog, Bing, jumped into Normandy on D-Day alongside British airborne troops.

During the jump, he was caught in a tree and suffered injuries, but remained with the unit and his job as they moved through France and Germany.

→ Read Bing's story from D-Day

7. Siwash

A duck won in a New Zealand pub raffle ended up crossing the Pacific with US Marines.

Siwash survived campaigns including Tarawa and Saipan, and earned the rank of sergeant.

→ See how Siwash's story

8. Herman

In Baltimore during WWII, the Coast Guard issued an official ID card to a cat.

Occupation: Expert Mouser.

→ Read Herman's story

9. Andrew

Andrew was the mascot of the PDSA Allied Forces Mascot Club in London during the Blitz. Most of the time, he slept through raids. But when bombs approached nearby, Andrew apparently moved first, and people followed him.

→ Read Andrew's story

10. Dee-Day

A kitten given to Coast Guardsmen in Italy eventually reached Normandy aboard a landing ship. Her name felt inevitable: Dee-Day.

→ Read Dee-Day's story

11. Pooli

Born at Pearl Harbor, Pooli later crossed the Pacific aboard USS Fremont. She sailed through major operations and accumulated decorations of her own.

→ Read Pooli's story

12. Pyro

Pyro regularly flew at 20,000 feet tucked inside an RAF photographer's jacket. On one mission, he helped save the photographer's fingers from severe frostbite.

→ Read Pyro's story

13. Lady Moe

Lady Moe joined a bomber crew in North Africa during WWII. She ate cigarettes, loved sugary Ping bars, and flew a combat mission while wearing an improvised oxygen mask.

→ Read Lady Moe's story

14. Unsinkable Sam

Stories surrounding Unsinkable Sam sit somewhere between wartime records and legend. If the accounts are accurate, Sam survived not one but three sinkings during World War II. The famous photograph often attached to him, however, belongs to some other ship's cat.

→ Read the story behind Unsinkable Sam

Explore more wartime animal stories