A duck named Sergeant Sea Wash received a military medal for fighting and defeating a Japanese rooster during an amphibious landing.
Posted by Bodhi Garrison, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
Multiple independent historical accounts (Marine Corps Times, Mental Floss, Futility Closet, Wikipedia) describe Sergeant Siwash, a Marine duck, fighting and routing a Japanese rooster during the 1943 Tarawa landing. The claim's name 'Sea Wash' is a spelling variant of Siwash, and the duck received a citation for bravery rather than a medal, which is a minor imprecision.
What was said
… Oh, my God. He ends up getting the rank of Sergeant. Sergeant Sea Wash is his name. This duck, okay, Makes it, goes through multiple amphibious landings, apparently. I swear to God, like, I have the sources. I have the time, news articles, and the drawings. The duck got in a fight with a Japanese rooster during one of the amphibious landings and beat this Japanese rooster in a fight and ended up getting a military medal for going toe to toe with this Japanese rooster.
What we found
Supports. The Marine Corps Times article reports that the duck engaged a Japanese rooster at Tarawa and was eventually cited for bravery, with the citation describing fierce combat with 'one rooster of Japanese ancestry'.[1]
Supports. Wikipedia's entry on Sergeant Siwash states she was brought to the Tarawa invasion, attacked a Japanese rooster, and received a citation for bravery.[2]
Supports. Mental Floss and Futility Closet both describe the duck's fight with the Japanese rooster during the Tarawa landing and the resulting bravery citation.[3][4]
Context. The sources describe the award as a citation for bravery rather than a medal; a Purple Heart was considered but not given. This is a minor wording difference rather than a contradiction of the core claim.[1][2]
Context. The name 'Sea Wash' in the claim corresponds to 'Siwash' in the sources; the referent is the same duck.[1][2][4]
Sources
4 sources: 4 not rated
- 1The Marine who was a duck (yes, an actual duck)marinecorpstimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 2Sergeant Siwash - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 3The Story of Siwash, the Beer-Drinking Duck Who Joined the ...mentalfloss.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Amphibious Assault - Futility Closetfutilitycloset.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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