War Animal Day service at Thuringowa RSL honours dogs, horses, animals who go to war
Soldiers and their explosive detection dogs were among those who laid a purple poppy to commemorate War Animal Day at Thuringowa RSL. SEE THE PHOTOS
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Soldiers and their explosive detection dogs were among those who laid a purple poppy for War Animal Day at Thuringowa RSL on Monday.
The annual ceremony is to remember the service given by animals in both war and in peace.
Lance Corporal Tom Page from 3CER was one who laid a purple poppy alongside EDD Wilbur to honour animals in service.
“Today means that we get to pay our respects to those animals that have served through Australian military conflicts, WWI, Vietnam and through to Afghanistan, these animals, they didn’t choose to serve,” he said.
“They were chosen, and they didn’t have a choice, and they rocked up every day and put in 100% work every day.”
He said EDD animals proved their worth in saving countless lives in Afghanistan.
“One of the main threats over there was improvised explosive devices, and that often be subsurface or secured in a way that either our hand searches could not detect them, or our tools itself were unable to detect,” LCpl Page said.
“So our dog’s sense of smell is absolutely fantastic, and they could be that early warning standoff required for our troops on the ground.
“Today, I’ve been reflecting on those dogs who didn’t come back from conflicts, and I’ve also been reflecting on those dogs currently serving and the role that they’re playing within the security of the Australian region at the moment.”
Veteran and president of the 27th Light Horse Association Jason Mengel said animals had played a key role in service with Australian soldiers for many years.
“War Animal Day is the day that we get to come together as a community and remember all the animals that served alongside with all the members of the Australian military from World War One all the way through to today,” he said.
“Dating back to World War One, we had camels, we had donkeys and we had horses that everyone knows about, but then everyone forgets about the other ones, such as dogs, cats and other bird varieties that they that they had as pets.
“All the way through to Vietnam, where they had the tracker dogs that we used to go through the tunnels through to today, where you see here at this event, we’ve got the explosive detection dogs and the military working dogs.”
Originally published as War Animal Day service at Thuringowa RSL honours dogs, horses, animals who go to war
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