Gander's story began April 15, 1935. Originally named Pal, in 1938 he became the pet and best friend of a little boy, Jack Hayden. Pal would play with the children and also helped Rod Hayden by pulling a sled carrying fuel to help refuel Army planes. Unfortunately, due to Pal's massive size, while playing with the children he accidently scratched Joan Chafe's face. Mrs. Hayden decided to give Pal to the Royal Rifles of Canada stationed at Gander Airport, becoming their mascot. The men of the unit changed his name to Gander to honor the village he was from. Because of Gander's strong attributes, he was attached to the MP unit to help with security and promoted to the rank of sergeant. In October 1941 the unit boarded trains and headed to Vancouver to leave for Hong Kong to help the British. The unit would parade in every town they stopped in, and leading would be SGT Gander with his handler, Fred Kelly. When they arrived in Vancouver they were joined with the Winnipeg Grenadiers, forming "C-Force," and departed for Hong Kong. They arrived Nov. 16, 1941, in Hong Kong and for three weeks prepared their defense. They were told by the British that the 1,976 Canadians were to face a force of 5,000. In reality the Japanese numbered over 60,000. Five hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, they began bombing the Canadians. For 10 days the Canadians were unable to get adequate rest. On Dec. 18 at 2200 hours, the Japanese began their land assault. As they approached the beach Gander was jumping and biting to deter them. Hours passed and casualties began mounting. Seven wounded soldiers were laying in a ditch waiting for medical aid. The Japanese threw grenades at them; the soldiers would throw them back. One grenade landed just out of their reach. Gander grabbed the grenade and took it back to the Japanese...BOOM! In the morning SGT Gander's lifeless body was seen lying in the road. In 1995 the Battle of Hong Kong Vets were awarded a medal for their efforts. One soldier said, "Too bad that damn dog didn't receive a medal." Gander's story was told to the PDSA staff in London. On Oct 27, 2000, Gander received his Dickin Medal. The medal is referred to as the Animal's Victoria Cross, the equivalent to the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. Gander's name is placed alphabetically on the Memorial Wall in Ottawa. "These Men and Dog NEED to be REMEMBERED."
The film is on Youtube.com: "A Tribute to Gander by JP Bear"