Charlie Talks A Lot (Title Pending)

Wojtek the Soldier Bear

This episode of Charlie Talks A Lot (Title Pending) is for all of those history buffs out there. Today we are discussing Corperal Wojtek, the BEAR that served in world war 2. Your stay first begins when a group of Polish soldiers were released from a Soviet POW camp when they came across an Iranian boy who had found a bear cub that's mother was killed by hunters. The soldiers and some civilian refugees were taken by the bear and bargained with the boy for the bear, offering rations and candy. This bear was soon named Wojtek (pronounced Voy-Tek) an old Slavic word meaning Happy Warrior. Wojtek then became the honorary mascot of the group that would later become the 22nd Supply Company. Young Wojtek spent most of his days running around chasing oranges that the soldiers used for grenade practice, running away from birds, and drinking condensed milk out of and off vodka bottles. As Wojtek grew slightly older he would gain a pension for alcohol and lit cigarettes it is even said he could tell the difference, spitting out unlit ones as he did not like the taste. He also loved showers to a point where the soldiers had to lock the doors so Wojtek could not get in and deplete all of their water supply. However, one night someone left the doors unlocked and Wojtek entered and uncovered an Arab spy. Afterword, Wojtek was rewarded with sweet meats and a long shower. To the right is a photo of A young Wojtek drinking out of a bottle.

When the Supply Company was to be transferred from Egypt to Italy, the boat that transported them would only allow soldiers on the boat. In response, the soldiers made Wojtek a private in the Polish army, and issued him the proper paperwork and a playbook to help pay for his food. At the height of Wojtek's military career he would serve in the Battle of Monte Cassino. During this battle no one was able to look after Wojtek due to the battle's intensity, so he was chained to the nearby supplies where he actually provided valuable support to the company as he picked up and carried the over 100 pounds of shelled ammunition to their proper places that would normally take about 4 men to lift. Woytek was known to imitate soldiers in the past when they did drills but never in actual battle. As recounted by a soldier of the company Wojtek was a lazy thing, he would always carry the empty boxes but in that battle, he carried the real thing. (Keep in mind this is somewhat paraphrased as I cannot quite recall the entire quote and I am illiterate at times.)

Skipping ahead to around the end of the war, Wojtek retired to Scotland where he first lived on farmland having parties with neighbors. He then moved his residence to a Zoo where his surviving comrades visited him on the regular, some would even jump into the bear pit and freak out the zoo employees by wrestling with Wojtek as they had when they served in the army. Wojtek was actually something of a local celebrity staring on children’s programs and received many visitors at the zoo. People would sometimes through lit cigarettes which Wojtek enjoyed he also responded to polish as he would wave if you spoke polish to him. Wojtek would die at the age of 21 (a pretty average age for a bear of his species) in 1963 where he has been remembered today mostly in Scotland and Poland, where he has a few statutes dedicated to him.