Marine, Now 75, Honored for His Wartime Courage

Marine Lt. William W. Putney was awarded the Silver Star for bravery on Saturday--at the age of 75, half a century after the end of his war.

Putney, a Woodland Hills veterinarian, commanded a “war dog” platoon in the 3rd Marine Division during World War II--a little-known specialty that used trained dogs both to guard American positions and sniff out enemy troops hidden in tunnels or caves.

On July 26, 1944, Putney’s unit was defending 3rd Marine headquarters on Guam when the lieutenant, then 24, spotted a Japanese platoon heading toward the division hospital.

“Putney ordered the war dog handlers to tie their dogs to bushes and take up a firing line in the path of the enemy,” his citation reads. “An enemy machine gun emplacement savagely opened fire. . . . . Disregarding his own safety, [Putney] unhesitatingly arose from his position of cover, and standing exposed to the hail of bullets aimed at him, began firing.

“He succeeded in silencing the machine gun and killing the two enemy machine gunners. Although wounded, he exhorted the platoon to press the attack, resulting in the killing of all enemy soldiers, including the Japanese officer leading the attack.”

Officials said Putney had been recommended for a decoration during the war but unaccountably did not receive one. His former commanding officer resubmitted the recommendation a few years ago, and Navy Secretary John H. Dalton approved it in time for Putney to formally receive the award at the Punchbowl military cemetery here as part of Saturday’s commemoration of the end of World War II.

After the war, Putney served as chief veterinarian and commander of the U.S. Army War Dog Training School. He retired from the Marines and practiced as a veterinarian in Woodland Hills.

In recent years, he led a successful effort to build a cemetery and monument for the 25 Doberman pinschers and German shepherds who died in the liberation of Guam in 1944.

The memorial, which includes the names of the dogs and a life-size bronze statue of a Doberman, was dedicated in a military ceremony last year.