Brownie the War Dog

Good animal stories tap into the incredible bonds between animals and humans, a theme that never seems to grow old! I think we’re fascinated by animals and how their lives intersect with ours. Maybe we pay a different kind of attention because we interact with animals without the benefit of speech. Whatever it is, animal stories and behaviors have always captured my interest.

I first learned of Brownie’s story in 2019 while on a tour of the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, which included the museum in the Marden Activities Center. My Korean War veteran father’s advanced dementia had become too difficult to manage without additional help, so my family was touring the home in hopes of finding a care facility for him. As an animal lover, history enthusiast, and sentimental person by nature, I immediately had the idea that young people might connect with the emotion of Oren and Brownie’s “boy and his dog” story and absorb some WWII history while doing so.

My research process was all about connecting with Oren Kendley’s family, and the most profound connection was Oren’s niece Joan Yohr, who is now in her eighties. Joan had protected Brownie’s memorabilia for more than fifty years and had written a family history that included a chapter about Brownie’s life. She also donated a scrapbook of Brownie’s photos to the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, as well as Brownie’s military documents to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison. Having access to such a wealth of information made researching his story feel very authentic, as Joan knew Brownie when she was a young girl.

Something that did surprise me was that no matter how many avenues of research I followed, I was not able to find out the identity of Brownie’s handler in the military. Perhaps, with the book’s release, someone will step forward with that information, and I can put that to rest in my mind!

My time working at the Winneconne Public Library allowed me a bird’s-eye view of the themes and types of illustration that captivate children. I also worked at the circulation desk of the library and in children’s programming, which allowed me the opportunity to speak and engage with young people. All of these experiences helped guide my word choices and ensured that the comprehension level was appropriate for readers aged five to eleven.

Yes, the first being just how incredibly unique Brownie is, regarding where he is buried. He was buried with full military rites and laid to rest with the human veterans at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, making him the only known non-human veteran to be buried with human veterans in a veterans memorial cemetery.

The year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of Brownie’s death and military burial. A commemorative life-sized bronze statue is currently being created, and once complete, it will be installed at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King.

One of my favorite race memories was from my first year, when I wasn’t sure I could actually ski 30-plus miles. Late in the race, as I was coming down a hill, it hit me that I indeed was going to make it to Hayward. It was such an intense feeling of accomplishment, of joy, of personal triumph, something that I’d never felt as an athlete. I imagine this is what many first-time Birkie finishers experience and one of the reasons it keeps them, like me, coming back.

Many Birkies stand out because the weather and snow conditions make them even more challenging. One year, skiers faced sub-zero cold at the start and only single digit high temperatures—I felt like a popsicle when I finished. One year it was in the 40s, so it was a long slog through mushy snow and then standing water on Lake Hayward. Another year a blizzard hit about a day before the race, and the soft snow on the course made for thick uphill climbs and not much glide. The battle of the Birkie is three-fold—within yourself, against the course, and versus Mother Nature.

I have known since the age of five that I wanted to be an artist. And, since most of the art we see is in books, by the age of six I said, “I’m going to make children’s books!” In every book, one’s art is working with the words to create the story. And right away, the colors, the personality and journey of this dog, his history, and family began to form in my head and on the page.

My favorite subjects outside of art are dogs and history. For most of my life I have had a dog (or several). The bond and communication between a person and their dog I feel is one of the most devoted connections you can have. I am also a great believer that history, especially history that touches us, is one of the most important teaching tools we have in life. While many people of the World War II generation are passing on, we can still reach within our own families to find an uncle or aunt, a grandmother or grandfather, who served, worked assembly lines, or had a loved one who did. With a beautiful true story like this, we get to see and feel the sacrifices everyone faced at that time.

This story was already beautiful, but to fully serve a beautiful story, the work needs to be honest. Kelly captured the beauty and emotions of this story while keeping it accurate and moving.

I did a lot indeed, and it was fun. Research is truly one of my favorite things with historical stories. One example was the train that Brownie departs on. I had a photo of the train engine that serviced the station Brownie would have left out of. From the number on the engine, I was able to track what lines used that engine, the schedules, and the trains that ran through the station, and I used that information to paint the scene of Brownie’s departure. All in all, I’d say research was nearly one-third of my work time.

I have a lot of books on the period, and I collect clothes, toys, and books from that era. So, I already had a historical palette that was true to the period. The colors of homes inside and out are often very distinct to their decade. This is also true of army and civilian clothes. I even found an original image of the dog food advertising that was used. I just had to paint what was true.

I have a few favorites, including some scenes showing the Kendley family because of the emotions expressed, but I think my favorite is the spread that shows Brownie side by side with a soldier in the jungles of the Pacific. It was the most time-consuming page and captured such an important moment.

It just so happened that my dog Gretel was the perfect model for Brownie. Her size, build, and facial structure were very similar, and all I needed to do was adjust her coloring. Gretel had been with me for 14 years, so she was happy to pose for me and allow me to adjust her facial features as needed. Also, around this time I noticed Gretel was slowing. As I said before, you get to know your pup and they know you. So, in many ways I knew this would be one of the last gifts we’d share. When I wrote my dedication to her, it was a way of saying thank you. Every time I look at these pages, I see Gretel lying still, allowing me to move her limbs and adjust her mouth—being that wonderful, generous dog that Brownie was.

More than anything, I hope it will inspire people to reach out to the history we can touch. You can still visit the train station, talk to veterans, find these places on a map, and realize this is your history too.