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The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 19, May 4, 2014, Article 31

BRITISH ARMY DOG AWARDED DICKIN MEDAL

It's been some time since we could report the award of a Dickin Medal, given to animals exhibiting bravery in the service of their human owners. A bomb-sniffing dog used in Afghanistan killed in 2008 has been given the award posthumously - the 65th animal to be awarded medal since 1943. Past winners include many dogs, a horse and even carrier pigeons. -Editor

sasha A British Army dog killed alongside her handler in Afghanistan is to be honoured with what is called the highest military award for an animal.

Sasha, a four-year-old yellow Labrador who was trained to hunt out explosives, is credited with saving the lives of scores of soldiers and civilians.

She will be awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal, which the charity says is the animal version of the Victoria Cross.

The PDSA said: "Sasha's determination to search and push forward - despite gruelling conditions and relentless Taliban attacks - was a morale boost to the soldiers who entrusted their lives to her weapon-finding capability.

"On one occasion recalled by regimental colleagues, Sasha was searching a building in Garmsir when she detected two mortars and a large quantity of weaponry, including explosives and mines.

"This find alone undoubtedly saved the lives of many soldiers and civilians."

In 2008 she was assigned to 24-year-old L/Cpl Rowe and the pair were considered the best in the Kandahar region.

Rowe and Sasha
L/Cpl Rowe and Sasha working together in Afghanistan

They died together on 24 July 2008 when their routine patrol was ambushed by a rocket-propelled grenade attack.

L/Cpl Rowe, from West Moor near Newcastle, had been due to return home the day before he died but wanted to stay on to complete a planned operation because he was concerned about a lack of cover for comrades.

Sasha had 15 confirmed finds of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), mortars and hidden weaponry.

Col Neil Smith QHVS, director of the Army Veterinary and Remount Services, said: "This prestigious award recognises how her devotion and skills undoubtedly saved the lives of many troops in Afghanistan, and acknowledges the excellent work our military working dogs and their handlers do.

To read the complete article, see: Army dog killed in Afghanistan given posthumous medal (www.bbc.com/news/uk-27186205)

THE BOOK BAZARRE

DON’T MISS MEMPHIS THIS YEAR! The first two volumes of the monumental new Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money will debut at the Memphis International Paper Money Show. Volume 1 is an introduction for the collector and historian; volume 2 covers Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire. Join author Q. David Bowers and Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker in Memphis for a discussion of the obsolete paper-money market, Friday, June 13, 2014.


Wayne Homren, Editor

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