Sometimes a true hero can be... a dog!

We all are thankful for those men and women who dedicate their lives to protect our safety. We say, "We support our troops," frequently but are we forgetting some rather important members of the U.S. armed forces?

The use of dogs in war first began in World War I and their service has continued to our present day battles.

The breeds that are most commonly used as German and Dutch Shepherds as well as Belgian Malinois. These dogs help protect military bases and have the ability to detect bombs and other explosives.

Chips is quite possibly the most famous war dog and served during WWII. Chips was on sentry duty in Casablanca in January of 1943. Despite his training as a sentry, Chips tore away from his handler and attacked a pillbox containing an enemy machine gun crew in Sicily. He seized one man and forced the entire crew to surrender. Chips has been given direct credit for capture of numerous enemies by alerting the troops that the enemy was prison. Chips was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, both later revoked because these were awards meant for humans. Chips was a true hero.