Cat Island Training Center

January 1944 picture of the dog kennels at the Cat Island Training Center.

Dog owners expressed an interest in donating their pets to support the American war effort during World War II. This led to the creation of the Dogs for Defense program. This program placed donated dogs into an 8-12-week basic training program. Those that completed the initial training were then forwarded to receive specialized training based on their skills and abilities. One of the five training centers was located on a Mississippi barrier island called Cat Island. Currently it is managed by Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Anti-Japanese sentiment spread across the United States during the war. For Japanese Americans, the war meant internment, segregation, and unjust treatment. More than 33,000 second-generation Japanese Americans, or Nisei (NEE-say), volunteered to serve in the armed forces despite the prejudice they faced. Of those, 19,000 served in three segregated units: 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service. The men of the 100th were Japanese Americans from Hawaii.

In late 1942, the US Army selected Nisei from the 100th to take part in a top-secret training mission. Swiss dog trainer William A. Prestre proposed a new specialized training program based on a belief that dogs could differentiate humans by smell based on their cultural heritage. He believed trained dog packs could track and attack Japanese soldiers in the Pacific Theater. The Army agreed to the proposal and classified it as top secret while the dogs were being trained.

The Army leased Cat Island; a private uninhabited island just off the coast of Mississippi. The dense vegetation, ecosystem, and climate of the island resembled the pacific. There were plenty of scrub oaks, pines, lagoons, and marsh grasses for camouflage. Cat Island was the perfect location for this top-secret training facility. Whisked away under secrecy, the Japanese American soldiers arrived by plane into Gulfport to be loaded on to two US Coast Guard ships to travel to Ship Island, Mississippi. From there every day they traveled by boat six miles to Cat Island to participate in training scenarios with military dogs and their handlers.

To train the dogs, Japanese Americans soldiers were selected to serve as live targets. Prestre believed that Japanese people smell different than Americans. To test his theory, Prestre had the Nisei men run drills with the dogs. The initial drill involved these soldiers hiding in the dense vegetation with a piece of meat. Once found the soldier would fire an air rifle into the air, place the meat against his throat, and fall to the ground. Instead of attacking, the dogs grabbed the meat and licked the soldier's face thinking the meat was a treat.

 

US Army soldiers including Japanese soldiers known as the cadre, pose for a group photo on Cat Island, Mississippi, in July of 1944.

NPS

Once dogs completed the first drill, the soldiers would hide without the meat, again the dogs hesitated to attack and “kill” the familiar Nisei, who wore padding for protection. Prestre ordered the Nisei to hurt the dogs to create aggression, against the desires of the men. Injuries were common for the Nisei, though the protective gear they wore prevented serious harm.
The training was not without complications. Dogs can differentiate between people, but it is due to diet and not a natural scent stemming from ancestry.

Japanese Americans did not eat the same diet as Japanese soldiers, so the training failed. Some of these dogs, coming from civilian homes, also lacked nature to attack on command. As the dogs became familiar with the Nisei, tracking skills improved but attacks decreased.

On January 12, 1943, Prestre demonstrated the dogs progress in front of the Army Ground Forces. What they saw was a series of routine drills and dogs that lacked interest in attacking the Nisei. Prestre got a second chance but produced the same results. The top-secret mission failed and ended on July 15, 1944.

The Japanese Americans training on Cat Island took part in a brutal mission under the idea of helping protect all American soldiers to improve jungle warfare. Their mission was so secret, it remained hidden for years following the end of war.

These units became some of the most decorated during WWII, with the 100th earning the nickname “the Purple Heart Battalion.”

Today, the legacy of Japanese Americans’ bravery during WWII is honored. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a bill presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to the 19,000 Nisei who fought for the United States during the World War II.

While the sounds of barking dogs are long gone from Cat Island, the whispers of its past serve as a lesson in recognizing injustice and reminds us of the valor of the Japanese American soldiers. Visitors can learn more about this story in the William M. Colmer Visitor Center in Oceans Springs, Mississippi.

 

Dogs for Defense during World War II

US Army soldiers stand holding dogs at Fort Benning, Georgia, during the 1940s.

 

More Links

• Dog Day Afternoon
• Uncle Sam Needs to Borrow Your… Dog?
• Dogs for defense
• The Use of War Dogs

Dogs for Defense program

Before the US entered World War II, the US Army had only a few sled dogs that they used in arctic regions. The military was not convinced that dogs would be useful in war. After the Japanese attacked the US home front, civilians including those from the dog show world established the Dogs for Defense program. In July 1942, the responsibility for training the dogs was transferred to the Quartermaster Corps, and by the fall, dogs were being trained for the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. Dogs for Defense remained active in procuring dogs until March 1945. After the war the military re-trained surviving dogs for civilian life. Dogs were returned to their owners if possible. The rest were adopted out, with priority given to servicemen and families whose pets had been killed in action.