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| 12 - Canine Buddies Okinawa May 22, 1945 |
PFC Thorton "Stoney" Harby, USMC
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Acquisition Number: HRB8
Medium: charcoal on illustration board
The battle for Okinawa, just 340 miles away from the Japanese home islands, was the fiercest of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Three Marine divisions comprised III Amphibious Corps, which reported to Tenth Army, which had overall command of the battle space. 6th Marine Division conducted the initial amphibious invasion in April 1945; the bloody battle lasted 82 days. Large casualty numbers on both sides and a grievous loss of Okinawan civilian lives, in part, prompted the U.S. to use two atomic bombs to end the war rather than invade the home islands of Japan.
The artist captured a Marine dog handler with his Doberman pinscher alert to their surroundings. German shepherds and Dobermans were used as scouts to detect enemy positions and as messengers. With their keen sense of smell, the dogs could alert their handlers to enemy forces even when they hid in caves and bunkers, which were prevalent on Okinawa.
Artist Stony Harby (1920-2011) enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Having already trained as an artist, he was assigned occupational specialty 296—combat artist—and was assigned to Headquarters Command on Okinawa, according to muster rolls for April 1945. After the war, he was a matte artist for Warner Brothers and other movie studios and taught art. He continued to produce art all his life.
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