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| 9th
Infantry Division — World
War II — Alresford and
Winchester, England |
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The
grave of the 47th Infantry
Regiment's canine mascot,
Hambone Jr.
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Aside from
taking leaves to nearby London and
partying in Alresford's many pubs,
the soldiers of the 47th Infantry
Regiment had someone special to help
keep their minds away from the stresses
of combat.
A dog named Hambone Jr. scurried alongside
the soldiers and kept them company
until the troops departed Alresford
in May 1944 for disembarkation to
Southampton and Portsmouth and eventually
to the shores of Utah Beach in Normandy,
France.
According to New Alresford resident
Glenn Gilbertson, Hambone Jr. is remembered
as a "brown and white, scruffy
little terrier."
"Apparently his original name
was Whisky, but the GIs named him
in honor of a cook whose nickname
was 'Hambone,' " Gilbertson said.
Unfortunately, Hambone Jr. ran in
front of an Army vehicle departing
Alresford for Portsmouth and Southampton
in May 1944 and was killed when a
truck, possibly a deuce-and-a-half,
ran over him.
According to a 1994 story titled "Alresford
remembers the sacrifice and spirit
of D-Day" and printed in the
Hampshire Chronicle, Alresford
residents and 9th Infantry Division
veterans paid tribute to Hambone Jr.
and fallen comrades during the 50th
anniversary of D-Day.
"Among visitors were veterans
and their wives from the 9th U.S.
Infantry Division who were staying
in Winchester for a few days before
going over to Normandy for the D-Day
Commemoration there," as stated
in the Hampshire Chronicle.
"They arrived in Alresford on
Friday afternoon and their first stop
was a river bank, where a wreath was
laid on a grave, which has a simple
headstone with the inscription, 'HERE
LIES HAMBONE JR., FAITHFUL FRIEND
OF THE 47th INFANTRY REGIMENT, 9th
DIVISION, U.S. ARMY, MAY 1944.'
"The wreath was laid by Jo Scardilli
and George Brown, both of whom were
stationed in Alresford during the
war. As far as they remember, they
were at Northington, but they were
not too certain Hambone Jr. was a
dog which had been adopted by the
American troops but sadly was run
over and killed and was buried on
the Dean alongside the River Arle.
"Someone else had been to the
grave that day. There were two wooden
crosses, one of which said, 'In memory
of Whisky, alias Hambone. You should
have stayed home that night.' The
second, 'In loving memory of Staff
Sergeant Noel Bellmore, killed in
action all those years ago, but still
remembered.' "
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