War Hero: The Unlikely Story of a Stray, an American Soldier and the Battle of Their Lives by Stephan Tatty

I came across this one on Kindle unlimited.  I adore animals but I am not sure what made me pick this one.  Usually I am gun shy with books like this because I know I'm going to cry, something awful will happen to the dog....   I'm happy to report that this wasn't really the case with this book.

This is the story of Rags, a stray, who was found and saved in Paris by an American soldier, named Donovan, during World War 1.   Donovan was a signal corspman whose job it was to keep the radios working so that the front lines could communicate with the reinforcements - an important and dangerous job.   Donovan found Rags under a pile of clothes - homeless and hungry.   Rags was probably about a year old.  Rags was a terrier and learned quickly.   Eventually he saved many lives by alerting soldiers to falling bombs, carrying messages and even helping to find broken wires to fix the radios.

Of course I realized that horses, dogs and other animals were used by both sides in the war.  I didn't know it wasn't as prevalent for the Americans as it was for others.    This was an engaging story, beautifully written.   I love non-fiction because I love learning new things.   I gave this one 5 out of 5 stars.   Rags didn't die in the war but lived a long life.  I hope to someday see his gave and moument to the Big Red One ( his regiment)  here in Silver Springs, MD someday.