Instead of a cat-and-synth picture on this Memorial Day, we thought we would lead with a cat-and-tank pic:

[Photo by unclebumpy on Flickr. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).]

On a serious note, cats have a long history of military service. Many military cats served on board ships as mascots or working cats (i.e., helping control rodents) or both. Pooli served on board a US attack transport during World War II.

[Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

There is also Pfc Hammer, an Iraqi kitten adopted by American soldiers. Hammer served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division in Iraq and ultimately came to live in Denver with Staff Sgt. Rick Bousfield.

[Image via US Department of Defense website.]

Pets are often left behind by soldiers who deploy to wars, including the current war in Afghanistan. There are organizations, like Pets for Patriots in Hawaii, that help find foster homes to care for military pets during deployment. Here we see a cat named Fancy getting ready to go to a foster home while her military humans are away.

[By The U.S. Army (Pets of Patriots) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]

Finally, we encourage readers to visit our article on the Presidio Pet Cemetery here in San Francisco. We visited the site last Memorial Day.

The dismantling of Doyle Drive is occurring right over the site at the moment so it is closed, but we hope to visit again soon.