The Amazing Stories of 22 Heroic “Purple Heart” Dogs

Rocky: A Soldier’s Best Friend!

This photo of “Rocky,” a German Shepherd war dog serving in Afghanistan, wearing a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in battle, has “gone viral” thanks to the Internet and social media.

Here’s the story from the Killeeen Daily Herald, home to Fort Hood’s 89th Military Police Brigade…

“Spc. Andrew Brown, 22, and his military dog, Rocky, were searching a structure for explosive materials in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand Province on Dec. 3 when the bomb exploded, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Garrett, the public affairs officer for the brigade.

“The soldier and dog survived the blast and were taken to a military hospital in Germany. … Brown has since been taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for treatment.  The dog ‘is still being treated in Germany for a few more days,’ Garrett said.”

Rocky suffered shrapnel wounds and a broken leg in the explosion.

Click the “NEXT” button below to read the stories of 21 other heroic war dogs through the years, from World War I to the War on Terror…