The Bear Who Became a Soldier — Wojtek's War

Wojtek the bear was the most extraordinary combatant of World War II. Born in the mountains of Iran in early 1942, he was purchased as a cub for a can of condensed milk and a pocketknife by a young Polish soldier serving with the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. The soldiers bottle-fed him and raised him among the troops. Wojtek grew rapidly — from a small cub to a 490-pound adult bear who drank beer from bottles, smoked and ate cigarettes, and wrestled with grown men (and usually won). When the company moved to Italy for the Italian campaign, Wojtek was too large to keep as a mascot without attracting attention. So the Poles did something unprecedented: they formally enlisted Wojtek as a Private in the Polish Army. He was given a paybook, a serial number, and his own bed — a repurposed ammunition crate. At the Battle of Monte Cassino in May 1944, Wojtek did something no army bear had ever done — he carried heavy artillery ammunition crates under fire. Trained by the gunners to grip and carry the heavy shells, Wojtek delivered ammunition to Polish artillery positions while shells exploded around him, never dropping a single one. After the war, Wojtek served as a living memorial to the Polish soldiers who died at Monte Cassino. He was sent to the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, where Polish veterans from the war regularly visited him, bringing him cigarettes and beer. He never learned to speak, but every time a Polish speaker approached him, he would stand on his hind legs and bow his head — a soldier acknowledging his countrymen.