Unusual soldier (The bear - named Voytek)

Yea supposedly he carried amunition to the soldiers on his back during battles, and also drank vodka.

He used to carry shells in his arms. The regimental cap badge shows this.

The regiments vehicles also carry the same badge...

Merged: Wojtek the soldier bear

wojtekfilm.com/large/index.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_(soldier_bear)

I was reading the paper yesterday and there was an article about this wonderful bear who was enlisted into the Polish army and carried munitions at Monte Cassino.

He liked beer and cigarettes and thought he was a soldier.
The whole story is superb.
Has anyone else heard of him?

He's got his own facebook page: facebook.com/group.php?gid=43399319070

New article about Wojtek in SpiegelOnline, The Nazis' Furriest Enemy

spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/wojtek-the-bear-that-joined-the-polish-army-and-fought-the-nazis-a-844056.html

Merged: Poland's WWII soldier bear statue planned for Edinburgh

An Edinburgh-based trust hopes to raise a statue this year of a bear that served alongside Polish soldiers during World War II.

Wojtek the Bear was purchased as a cub in 1942 while the Polish Second Corps was stationed in Iran as part of the British 8th Army.

The bear became a fully-fledged member of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, sleeping in soldiers' tents (until he was too big to do so), gobbling up cigarettes and drinking beer.

Legend holds that during the Italian campaign, he carried boxes of artillery at the hard fought Battle of Monte Cassino.





So nice of the mod to merge my thread, let me guess... Vincent? :)

amen,

and i'm proud to say the Wotjek beer is brewed in my Town Congleton!
we've always been called bear town so it makes sense

Merged: Scots to honour Monte Cassino bear

thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/137424,Edinburgh-approves-Wojtek-the-soldier-bear-statue
Edinburgh is planning to erect a statue to Soldier-Bear Wojtek whose unveiling will coincide with next year's (2014) anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Memorials to the Poland's ursine freedom-fighter who helped load ammunition are being planned in Kraków and Żagań as well.

There is a play in the Churchill Theather / High Street / Bromley Br1 1HA on: "Wojtek, the Happy Warrior." Polonia in the UK enjoy! ; )

There's an animated cartoon currently being finished in the UK (produced by Iain Harvey who did The Snowman) about Wojtek the Soldier Bear. I gather it's planned for release at Christmas. Good news, should be a great cartoon:

bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-45625363