Polish soldiers adopt an orphaned bear cub. He grows up to become a private in the army — and a war hero

A Syrian brown bear named Wojtek had one of the strangest military careers in World War Two. His journey started in April 1942 in the mountains of Iran, where Polish soldiers found him as a baby bear without a mother. These troops were traveling from a prison camp in Siberia through the Middle East to fight with Allied forces.

A young boy from Iran had found the bear cub after hunters shot and killed his mother. The boy took the cub to a train station and wanted to trade him to soldiers passing through. Polish soldiers from the 22nd Artillery Supply Company gave the boy a Swiss Army knife, some canned beef, and chocolate in exchange for the small bear. They called him Wojtek, which means “joyful warrior” in Polish.