Seeking military information about War Dog "Rex"

Question

My Grandmother told us all about her war Dog from when he was a kid, and a few days ago when we were helping clean out some closets at her house, we found his discharge paperwork. I am on this site trying to research his service history. I would love to find out more info on him and his service. I would love to share anything I find as well. I have attached a photo is the discharge paper for Rex.

Rachael Salyer · Answer

Dear Mr. Prescott, &#160; Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! &#160; We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series War Dog Service Books, ca. 12/1942 - ca. 6/1946 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127) that consists of war dog service books for canines volunteered by their owners for military service during the Second World War and may include records related to your grandmother&#8217;s dog, Rex. More information about the War Dog Training School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina , which created the Service Books series, is available in the Catalog. We also located the series General Records, 1942-1947 in the Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General (Record Group 92) that was created by the War Dog Reception and Training Center in Front Royal, Virginia . These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to these and similar records. &#160; We also suggest that you use the Catalog to review descriptions of other records related to Dogs for Defense and War Dogs . Some of these records have been digitized and can be viewed online. Most of the records have not been digitized. You may contact the National Archives reference unit listed in each Catalog entry for additional assistance with those particular records. &#160; Additionally, in June 2021, the Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Truman Presidential Libraries presented their Inaugural WWII Emerging Scholars Symposium to commemorate D-Day, and Hannah Palsa presented on Children and Dogs for Defense . Her presentation may be viewed online. Plus, you may be interested in the article Let the Records Bark! In the National Archives&#8217; Prologue Magazine and there are several posts related to War Dogs in the National Archives&#8217; blog The Unwritten Record &#8211; Exploring History with the National Archives Special Media Division . &#160; Finally, you may wish to review these other History Hub posts related to War Dogs if you have not done so already. &#160; Due to the continued impact of COVID-19, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2 or other NARA reference unit.&#160; We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA&#8217;s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information. &#160; We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research! &#160;