San Pedro’s Smallest Cemetery By Contributor and Writer Jim Shneer
Front entrance (author’s collection)
Excluding church columbariums, the community of San Pedro has three cemeteries: the old Harbor View Cemetery at 2411 South Grand; Green Hills at 27501 S. Western Avenue and the cemetery for war dogs at the Fort Macarthur Museum located on what was the Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur.
The K-9 Command Cemetery, possibly dating back to the World War II era, was enclosed in 1975 and, after several episodes of vandalism, was refurbished and rededicated in 2009.
Interior (author's collection)
Grave markers (author's collection)
Example grave markers (author's collection)
Example grave markers (author's collection)
Although the Army used dogs as far back as the Seminole wars, it was not until World War II that the Army recognized the need for formally trained military dog units. On September 9, 1941, the first sentry dog unit of the K-9 Company was formed at Fort MacArthur. When Sgt. Robert H. Pearce organized that war dog platoon, he sought aggressive, physically fit dogs up to three years old who would stand their ground without cowering. The dogs could not be gun-shy. According to the base newsletter, the goal of the dog platoon was to “conserve manpower and strengthen the guard by giving sentries an added weapon.” For assistance in selecting and testing dogs for the program, he turned to Hollywood dog trainer Carl Spitz who had trained Toto for “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) and Buck for “The Call of the Wild” (1935).
Sgt. Pearce with Rin (Fort MacArthur collection)
Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, the U.S. Army possessed only a small number of sled dogs for use in arctic regions. A few weeks later, in January 1942, a publicity campaign appealed to dog owners to volunteer their pets for war duty. Hundreds of dogs were brought to Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles for assessment. Six dogs were selected that day for the K-9 Command, including Bruno, a 65-pound chow mix and Rin, a German shepherd, who was the grandson of Rin-Tin-Tin. Rin-Tin-Tin was a star of 27 movies of which all but 4 were silent. The following year, the K-9 Command started breeding dogs for military service.
William Putney at the 50th anniversary ceremony commemorating the liberation of Guam. (public domain)
After the war, William Putney, who served with his dog on Guam, and became chief veterinarian of the Marine Corps, successfully retrained 550 war dogs, returning them to civilian homes. Despite that, in 1949 the Defense Department instituted a policy that all war dogs were to be euthanized upon their retirement because they were considered dangerous, incapable of being rehabilitated and regarded as equipment - a policy overturned by legislation in 2000 by "Robby's" law, U.S. Code Title 10, section 2583.
Dr. Putney speaking about war dogs William Putney at the 50th anniversary ceremony commemorating the liberation of Guam. (public domain)
During the Cold War, trained dogs were needed for sentry duty at Nike missile sites. Ft. MacArthur was the headquarters for sites surrounding the Los Angeles area. When those sites were retired, the dogs were retired as well and euthanized in accordance with the 1949 policy. Most, if not all, of the dogs buried in this cemetery were Nike site guard dogs.
This article was excerpted from the 5th Edition of Exploring the Military History of Fort MacArthur and Palos Verdes.
Jim is a former aerospace engineering manager who, since retiring, has become an author and speaker on a variety of subjects. To read more about his work, please visit https://easyreadernews.com/the-battle-that-didnt-happen/. To learn about the military history of Fort MacArthur and Palos Verdes, visit https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/gg2490 to purchase a copy of any of his books.