Smoky the Second and Corporal William Wynne
Smoky, a tiny Yorkshire terrier and the world’s first ever therapy dog, has been immortalised with her statue opposite the Education Centre at RBWH, unveiled in 2012. Her handler and best friend, World War II Veteran Corporal William Wynne, sadly passed away on April 19 aged 99-years-old, 64 years after he lost Smoky.
Bill served in the United States Army Air Force from January 1943 to November 1945 and was part of General MacArthur’s crew stationed in Brisbane. Smoky was born only a few hundred metres down from MacArthur’s war office on Queen Street. He served in the Pacific Theatre as an aerial photographer, tasked to take photos of planes that had fallen to determine whether a rescue was possible.
In 1943, Bill bought Smoky for two Australian pounds from a soldier who had found her hiding in an abandoned foxhole in the New Guinea forest. He got to work training Smoky, teaching her to sing along with his harmonica, “she was a big morale-booster and smart as a whip,” he once said.
The two became inseparable and slept side-by-side in the tent he called home during the war.
Smoky joined Bill on countless combat missions, earning her a “Heroism Beyond the Call of Duty Award”. She survived around 150 air raids and even parachuted out of a tree using one made just for her.
Smoky’s biggest wartime achievement came when soldiers laying a telephone wire across a runway came under Japanese sniper fire. With the wire attached to her collar, Smoky dashed across the other side. Thanks to Smoky, soldiers were able to connect the wire and call in air support, a feat that saved hundreds of lives.
As Bill’s constant companion, Smoky is remembered as more than a battlefield hero but the world’s first therapy dog too. While Bill was recovering from Dengue fever, Smoky never left his side.
She quickly became a favourite of wounded and sick soldiers, offering hope and comfort to those wounded or ill in field hospitals. Smoky later joined Bill in Brisbane where she graced the halls of RBWH to provide a comforting and pleasant distraction to allied and enemy soldiers alike – decades before formal research began on the benefits of animal therapy.
After returning to the US with Smoky, Bill married Margaret where they raised five daughters and four sons. He leaves behind a large, loving family.
Senior Constable Nigel Allsopp of the Queensland Police Bomb Squad came across Bill and Smoky’s story completely by chance while getting a coffee one morning in Laguna Beach, LA. As a passionate war dog historian and ex-military dog handler, Nigel was determined to honour Smoky in Australia.