The 2nd Field Artillery Transport Company changed their unit patch (shown here) to honor their furry comrade.
Posted on 02/14/2008 8:54:29 PM PST by Stonewall Jackson
Like any soldier, he loved to relax with a cigarette and a bottle of beer when out of the firing line.
But in the heat of battle, he became an inspiring figure - bravely passing ammunition along to supply the guns.
All the men in the Second Polish Transport Company agreed that the recruit they called Voytek was the perfect comrade.
As for Voytek, he was just happy to be part of the unit... ever ready to lend a helping paw.
The 250lb brown bear, standing more than 6ft tall, was possibly the most remarkable combatant of the Second World War, seeing action amid the hell of Monte Cassino in Italy.
After the war, he and his fellow troops were billeted in Scotland and he lived out his days in Edinburgh Zoo, dying in 1963.
Now a campaign is under way to build a permanent memorial to the remarkable animal who fought so valiantly for the Allied forces.
Voytek was just a tiny bundle of fur when he was discovered wandering in the hills of Iran by the Poles when they were driving towards Palestine in 1943.
Having lost his mother, he attached himself to the men, who fed him on condensed milk and gave him an old washing up bowl to sleep in.
Voytek soon took on many human characteristics, crying when left alone and covering his eyes with his paws if chastised.
As he grew, he became a key member of the unit, being trained to carry mortar shells.
In the heat of summer, he reportedly learned to work the shower of the unit's bath hut.
On one occasion, Voytek was delighted to find the door ajar - and discovered an Arab who was spying for a raiding party.
The intruder confessed all, and the enemy were rounded up. Hailed a hero, Voytek was given two bottles of beer and allowed to spend all morning splashing happily in the bath hut.
When the Poles were deployed to Italy in 1944 to supply Allied troops with desperately-needed food and ammunition, the only way to take their furry friend with them was to officially enlist him - so he was given a name, rank and number.
As the bitter battle for the monastery of Monte Cassino was fought, the bear travelled in the munitions trucks, his head hanging out of the window, ignoring almost constant shellfire.
Cradling 25lb shells or boxes of ammunition in his arms, he would effortlessly pass them down the line. Off-duty, he loved a bottle of beer, a cigarette and to wrestle with the men - in between raids on the cookhouse.
At the end of the war, the transport company was stationed in the village of Hutton, Berwickshire, where Voytek became a local legend.
"He was like a big dog, no one was scared of him," said Polish veteran Augustyn Karolewski, 82, who still lives near the site of the camp.
"He liked a cigarette, he liked a bottle of beer - he drank a bottle of beer like any man." When the troops were demobilised, Voytek moved to Edinburgh Zoo.
Mr Karolewski went to see him and found he still responded to the Polish language.
"As soon as I mentioned his name, he would sit on his backside and shake his head, wanting a cigarette.
"It wasn't easy to throw a cigarette to him - I made several attempts until he got one."
Teacher Garry Paulin has written a book, Voytek - The Soldier Bear, which will be published next month.
Aileen Orr, who lives in Hutton, is campaigning for a memorial. "The story is totally amazing and it would be good if we could have some memorial in Scotland, perhaps at Holyrood, to celebrate the bear's life," she said.
The 2nd Field Artillery Transport Company changed their unit patch (shown here) to honor their furry comrade.
A cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking, Nazi-hating bear serving with an Army during World War Two sounds like one of the bad made-for-TV movies that the SciFi Channel likes to come out with.
But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
Wow!.
This story is WAY COOL. Tnx for posting!
A Monty Python Movie or a Benny Hill stic.
Ping.
As an aside, I found two articles about Voytek. The one I posted here lists the unit he served with as the 2nd Field Artillery Transport Company, while the other has the unit's designation being the 22nd Field Artillery Transport Company.
Either way, it is still an amazing story.
A most courageous Bear.
I hope he gets his well deserved monument.
ping
What a great story! I always wanted my own bear.
Amazing! Thank you for posting the story.
Thats a cool bear
I got one for sale. It’s the wife variety.
BTTT — for being such a great story...
Thanks. GROM to you!
Note to self: Do NOT make these guys mad.
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