Khan was a German Shepherd (then known as an Alsatian to avoid making the breed sound too German) who was trained as an explosives detection dog. During the Second World War, he was assigned to the 6th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), where he served alongside his handler Jimmy Muldoon. During the build up to the assault on Antwerp after D-Day, a Division of German troops had to be driven from Walcheren Island. Khan had already landed in Normandy with his handler and seen action, acting calm and collected under fire. The duo were crossing a channel in a landing boat to assault an enemy position whilst under machine gun and artillery fire. The boat they were in was hit directly and split in two from an explosion. Khan quickly swam ashore and started to look for Muldoon. It was only then that the dog heard his handler's cries from the water - Muldoon couldn't swim. Whilst under this continued fire, Khan re-entered the water and swam to Muldoon. There the dog bit into the soldier's uniform and dragged him to shore. Many soldiers lost their lives that night, but both Khan and Muldoon survived. After the war, Khan was returned to his family. But after Muldoon and Khan were reunited at the National Dog Tournament, the family decided to give the dog permanently into his care.
