The Bear Who Joined the Army in WW2

The Bear Who Joined the Army In World War Two, one army had a very unusual soldier. A bear. This really happened. In 1942, Polish soldiers in Iran adopted a tiny orphan bear cub. They named him Wojtek. They fed him milk from a bottle, and he slept in the tents with them. He grew big. He wrestled with the soldiers, rode in their trucks, and even saluted. But when the army had to sail to Italy, animals were not allowed on the ships. So the soldiers made Wojtek an official soldier, with his own name, rank and number. In 1944, at the Battle of Monte Cassino, the story goes that Wojtek helped carry heavy boxes of ammunition. His unit even put a bear carrying a shell on their badge. After the war, Wojtek lived in a zoo in Scotland. His old comrades came to visit him, like old times. Today, there are statues of him in Poland and Scotland. In World War Two, one army had a very unusual soldier.