Siwash, a duck from New Zealand which was acquired during a drinking game by US Marines in a tavern, was the mascot of the First Battalion of the Tenth Marine Regiment and later the entire Second Marine Division during World War II.
When the battalion sailed into battle, Siwash went with them, famously joining in the Battle of Tarawa, in 1943. In the midst of battle, Siwash engaged and took out a Japanese rooster despite being wounded, and received a citation for valor.
He then saw action in Saipan and Tinian. Siwash was fond of beer and drank lots of it.
At the end of the war, he was assigned to work in a recruiter's station in Chicago, doing so during the Korean War. He received an honorable discharge and lived in a zoo until passing away from liver disease. His funeral service was held in 1954 at a local taxidermist in San Diego. Take notes gents.
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