And The World Bore Witness …
The inaugural
Animals in War & Peace
Medal of Bravery Award
ceremony, sponsored by the National Marine Corps League
and Angels Without Wings, Inc
.,
honored eight special animals on Capitol Hill on Thursday, November 14. Members of Congress presented six posthumous medals to animal heroes that served in World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Two medals were presented to honor military working dogs and first-responder dogs in recognition of their bravery, service and sacrifices.
The ceremony was held in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building. The room was bursting at the seams filled with eight members of Congress, military and war dog handlers (some recently back from deployment), veterans, the Young Marines, and a member of The Singing Sergeants who performed the
National
Anthem
. They were joined by members and leadership from federal, state and local law enforcement, the New York City Fire Department, K9 search and rescue teams, trauma specialists and Girl and Boy Scouts. The Mongolian Ambassador to the United States, Yondon Otgonbayar, was present to honor “SGT Reckless”, the Korean War equine hero and inspiration for the ceremony. Also present were former United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and Founder of the Giving Back Foundation, Meera Gandhi, Elizabeth Shatner of the All Glory Project, Dr. Laurence Burke II curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and the general public.
Numerous national and international press outlets covered the ceremony, which garnered extensive exposure, including: The Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Reuters News Syndicate Service, Fox News, Stars and Stripes, AARP, MashViral, Rapid City Journal, FDNY Social Media, Orange County Register, South China Morning Post and News2Share (who posted the entire ceremony on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SViYbbOGjSs
).
Media relations for the ceremony were managed by
Ross Communications.
The inaugural
Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery
ceremony was created by Robin Hutton, President of Angels Without Wings, Inc., and author of the
New York
Times
best-selling book
SGT Reckless,
to bring awareness of, and to underscore, America’s appreciation of the heroics and sacrifices of America’s animals who served our country. It is intended to be commensurate with England’s iconic People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Dickin Medal, which has been presented to 71 animals, six of which are American heroes. Robin's
co-producer in Washington, DC was Mari Lou Livingood, President of The Livingood Group.
Tails of Hope Foundation was a lead sponsor and organizer of the inaugural
Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery
ceremony,
a co-presenter of the Medal of Bravery to FDNY’s Fire Marshal Joseph DiGiacomo’s K9 “Bucca” (named for fallen 9/11 Fire Marshal, Ronald Bucca), and the Processional Marshal for the K9 Honor Guard. The K9 Honor Guard included members of the Animal Medicine Veterinary Services Division of the Defense Health Agency, Faithful Friends Therapy Dog Program the CT Chapter of Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dog Program, Paws for a Cause, Ramapo Rescue Dog Association, Search and Rescue Dog Foundation
,
Support Our 4-Legged Soldiers, and Tails of Hope Foundation’s own Youth Ambassadors from its
K9s in the Classroom
™
program.
Angels Without Wings’ goal is to establish an Animals in War & Peace Museum in Washington, DC.
©
2019 - Photos by Shelley Castle Photography or Mary Kulakowski for Tails of Hope Foundation, Inc– All Rights Reserved.
