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The bear that was adopted by polish soldiers in 1942. He was assigned to the 22nd Artillery Supply Company in General Władysław Anders’s 2nd Polish Corps. At the Battle of Monte Cassino he helped carry heavy crates of artillery ammunition, for which he gained fame and was promoted to corporal. A teddy bear holding a shell in its paws became the unit’s official symbol. After the end of World War II in 1946, the unit was disbanded, and Wojtek was sent to the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland. He died on December 2, 1963, in Edinburgh.

Fun fact: one of my grandma's brothers fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino so he could have known Wojtek personally, it's so sad that he died there so I would never know the truth...