In September 1917, a few months after Stubby first embedded with the troops at the Yale Bowl, the 102nd prepared to ship out. By joining Slate Plus you support our work and get exclusive content. Harding officially received Stubby at the White House in 1921; in 1924, the dog passed review for Harding’s successor, Calvin Coolidge, three times. For his valorous actions, Stubby is recognized as the first canine ever promoted to the rank of Sergeant in … Usually closed doors were flung open for Stubby. Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, and Babylonians, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington. Ann Bausum, author of Stubby the War Dog: The True Story of World War I’s Bravest Dog, writes that J. Robert Conroy, a 25-old private from New Britain, Connecticut, forged the closest bond with the mutt. At some point during the turbulent Atlantic crossing, Stubby was found out. To the victor go the spoils: The Iron Cross medal that had been pinned to the German’s uniform thereafter adorned Stubby’s Army “coat.”. It is a leather-bound scrapbook, kept by Conroy. When Conroy studied law at Georgetown University, Sergeant Stubby became the official mascot of the Georgetown Hoyas- shortly before his death in 1926. He looks like a ramrod sergeant: tough, unsmiling, no nonsense, with a coat covered in medals. The dog gave chase, eventually dragging the soldier back to the 102nd. At Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, a soldier who is missing a foot lights a cigarette for a soldier who is missing both arms, circa 1918. When he was a puppy in 1917, Stubby was wandering around the fields of Yale University. Stubby’s provenance is unknown. It was at Chemin des Dames that Stubby reportedly saved the 102nd from a gas attack. He proved quick to learn. Seicheprey sustained the heaviest losses in the Saint-Mihiel sector. Many veterans were haunted by their experiences in the trenches, but American and military culture did not encourage the airing of battlefield traumas. Stubby was an American pit bull terrier, pit bulls used to be smaller until they made a larger and buffer version by combining bigger and more muscular dogs into the mix. Let us never forget the protection provided to us by the courageous souls that come inside of a much furrier package, bearing four paws, and a tail. Slate relies on advertising to support our journalism. It was said he could sniff out poison gas, barking warnings to doughboys in the trenches. The most revealing page in the Stubby scrapbook may be the one in which we find a note, inscribed in Conroy’s handwriting: “Criticism of Stubby which proves he is famous.” It is a single page, but its contents show that Stubby-mania wasn’t embraced by all Army veterans. Sergeant Stubby, a short brindle bull terrier mutt, was officially a decorated hero of World War I. Surely some measure of his popularity in the postwar period was due to the novelty of a canine hero. Shellshock was regarded as a mental illness, the result of cowardice, a shameful disease. French soldiers in trench in Northeastern France, circa 1916-1918. You’ve run out of free articles. Dogs were part of Attila the Hun’s forces in his fifth-century European conquests. Malinois? Sergeant Stubby served as the infantry’s mascot during World War I. It is actually customary that all military working canines receive the unofficial title of NCO. When Conroy went to study law at Georgetown, Stubby became the university’s official mascot, a predecessor to the Hoya bulldog of the present day. 18th Infrantry, Machine Gun Battalion passing through Saint-Baussant, France, in advance upon Saint-Mihiel front, Sept. 13, 1918. On July 6, 1921, a curious gathering took place at the State, War, and Navy Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. While Stubby was hailed with newspaper encomiums and ceremonial pomp, something was being glossed over: the grim details of life in the trenches, poison gas attacks, debilitating war injuries, death. Another well-known military dog was Sergeant Stubby, a Boston Bull Terrier who served in World War I. Sgt. He was a nothing dog who became a hero and was honored by three presidents. THE TRUSTED RESOURCE FOR MILITARY FAMILIES, Sergeant Stubby: The Highest Ranking Military Dog in History. Stubby lingered around Camp Yale after that first appearance. Stubby was awarded several medals of honor, and even invited visit the White House! When the time came to ship out for France, his new friend was not left behind. They established the first military dog school in 1884, and by the start of the Great War, they had almost 7,000 trained dogs. Sergeant Stubby's true breed The statement that Sergeant Stubby was a pit bull terrier is referenced from a Staffordshire bull terrier club, which provides no sources, quotes or testimonies to back that claim up, instead simply basically saying "it's true because we said it is." Stubby’s story started when he was found on Yale University Campus while a group of the 102nd Infantry was training. Stubby was like a character out of Horatio Alger, or a sentimental one-reel silent movie: an orphan who made his way in the world with perseverance and pluck. Somehow, the dog and his master survived. By June, however, Stubby had recovered and was back in action. France, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Russia all recognized the value of trained dogs on the battlefield. He served with distinction during WWI and had the honor of being the war’s most decorated war dog. His glory was even hailed in France, which also presented him with a medal. Sgt Stubby – The War Dog Many of the countries involved in World War I had war dog training schools in place prior to the conflict. He was the jaunty little creature who could be trotted out for parades, appear with politicians and military brass in photo opportunities, and was guaranteed to stay on message. On April 5 Stubby became a private first class, his first military rank. He even captured a German soldier. According to several news reports, he first enters the historical record in July 1917 as an ownerless stray. Sergeant Stubby and J. Robert Conroy, March 1919. And there are newspaper clippings, the closest we have to a comprehensive anthology of the press coverage of Stubby. Almost 3,000 German Stoßtruppen (shock troops) fired on, and overwhelmed, a small contingent of 600 American soldiers from the 26th. J. Robert Conroy and Sergeant Stubby at the capitol in Washington. In response, the Times reported, the solider “licked his chops and wagged his diminutive tail.” Sergeant Stubby, a short brindle bull terrier mutt, was officially a decorated hero of World War I. Still, not everyone was captive to Stubby’s charms. It’s impossible to say if Stubby’s celebrity was cultivated by the U.S. government or if it was the result of an organic groundswell. Stubby, a bulldog terrier with a short, stubby tail. Stubby, the foundling mutt, was thus an apt mascot for the U.S. forces: unpedigreed, untrained, an underdog. He is the only dog that has been promoted to Sergeant through combat. Stubby connected with the 102nd Regiment of the 26thDivision while it was training for war on the Yale campus. Robert Conroy decided to bring Stubby to France when they shipped out, and smuggled him under his coat. He then spirited the dog down to the hold and hid him in the ship’s coal bin. Sergeant Stubby among his buddies leading a Legion parade. The 26th would end the war as one of America’s most battle-scarred. The story of Stubby the war dog begins in the year of 1917, in Connecticut during WW1. After the war, Stubby was ubiquitous. Stubby first smelled the gas then ran up and down the trenches barking and biting soldiers, working to rouse them from slumber and getting them to safety. While his trip overseas as a stowaway was not necessarily ideal, Sgt. It is a truism that World War I was the first modern war, but it’s easy to forget what that meant 100 years ago. Stubby was there for the duration. The award was not a formal U.S. military commendation, but it symbolically confirmed Stubby, who’d also earned one wound stripe and three service stripes, as the greatest war dog in the nation’s history. Out of hiding and free to roam the freighter, Stubby proved popular with the crew. Stubby was made a member of the Red Cross and the American Legion. After the war, he worked as a bureaucrat, first for the Bureau of Investigation (predecessor to the FBI) at the Justice Department, then with military intelligence and finally on Capitol Hill as secretary for a Connecticut congressman. Like Rags, Stubby was a stray, and fell in with some soldiers drilling in New Haven, Conn. Cpl. Unfortunately this special canine did not leave the battlefield completely unscathed. Stubby, according to vintage articles from his time (linked below in "references") and this 1921 one in particular, was noted to be a Boston Bull Terrier, which is the old term for the Boston Terrier breed. He became the first dog to be given rank in the United States Armed Forces. Oftentimes when speaking of our American soldiers, we’re referring to all the brave men and women who have committed to protecting our great nation. Many dogs, including Red Cross dogs, performed heroically. He is said to have captured a German spy. Among the allies, France had the largest and most diverse dog units. To this day he holds his own display at the National Museum of American History, and can be visited by anyone. According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, he was the first dog ever given rank in the U.S. Army. Dogs were also a key part of the Red Cross’ aid efforts, and every country had its own unit. The New York Times describes how Conroy eluded the ship guards by concealing Stubby in his Army-issue greatcoat. Here are some interesting things to know about this four-legged hero. Sgt Stubby – The War Dog The story of Stubby the war dog begins in the year of 1917, in Connecticut during WW1. Conroy faced a problem: What to do about the dog he had adopted and named Stubby? According to Bausum, the two reportedly shook “hands.” Four months later, on April 29, 1919, Stubby and Conroy were demobilized at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. Airedale terriers were considered good messenger dogs. A machinist onboard fashioned Stubby his own set of metal “dog tags.” By the time the troops disembarked in the port of Saint-Nazaire on France’s western coast, Stubby was the 102nd Infantry’s unofficial mascot. Another photo, dated February 1919, captures Stubby in the town of Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours, in Lorraine in northeastern France. Sergeant Stubby died in 1926. French Infantryman Gaston Baptiste befriends the duo and accompanies them along their epic journey through harsh conditions and incredible acts of courage. His presence during recovery is said to have thoroughly boosted the morale of his fellow wounded soldiers. Stubby, the hero war dog, is back in the state. Sergeant Stubby, most likely a Boston terrier, was America’s first war dog. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History via Carl Malamud. But the very fact of Stubby’s celebrity itself enlightens our understanding of the war and its aftermath. The raw troops of the 26th Division were brought to Neufchâteau, in the Lorraine region of northeastern France, to train with more experienced French forces. 1. Pershing made a short speech, noting the soldier’s “heroism of highest caliber” and “bravery under fire.” The general solemnly lifted an engraved solid gold medal from its case and pinned it to the hero’s uniform. The story of dogs in warfare is an old one, stretching back to antiquity. In one battle, Prusco, a French dog, located and dragged more than 100 wounded men to safety. You can cancel anytime. And you'll never see this message again. All contents © 2021 The Slate Group LLC. Here the 26th Division was slated to board one of the largest freighters navigating the Atlantic, the SS Minnesota. Some say that he was a brindle bull terrier mutt, or pit bull mix, and others believe he was a Boston Terrier mix. Photo by Sgt. Initially, he didn’t serve in an official capacity, but the dog was allowed stay with Conroy, even when he went on assignment as a dispatch rider delivering messages to command posts on horseback. Once there, the dogs hauled ammunition, aided soldiers in the work of laying communication lines, and helped transport wounded soldiers to field hospitals. Stubby”, is one of my favorite artifacts in the Armed Forces History collections.He was the mascot of the 102 Infantry 26th Yankee Division in World War I. Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated dog of World War I. “Stubby’s history overseas,” a Waterbury, Connecticut, newspaper wrote in 1922, “is the story of almost any average doughboy.” But of course Stubby was not a doughboy, and his renown was anything but average. While it may seem surprising, a small terrier mix known as Stubby, is described to be one of the most decorated war dogs in the history of the US military! The book is crammed with documents and ephemera: fan letters, poems, drawings, an invitation to the White House from President Wilson. It’s also been said that he is responsible for saving the lives of an entire company! Stubby proved himself extremely useful on the battlefield. Here the lore of Stubby, as reported by various newspapers, takes on a suspiciously cutesy cast: The story goes that the dog charmed his way into the good graces of the officers who discovered him by lifting his right paw in a salute. They saw more fighting than any other American infantry division: 210 days in total. The regiment’s leader, Col. John Henry Parker, was a gruff, intimidating man, a veteran of the Spanish-American War and an expert machine gun tactician who eventually received a Silver Star for extraordinary heroism. Stubby went on to become a very brave soldier who won lots of medals before reaching the age of two. Army via Wikimedia Commons. In this environment, Sergeant Stubby was an ideal World War I hero, because he was ideally stoic. The year By February 1918, the 102nd was bunkering along the lines of Chemin des Dames, the French-held “ladies path” on the Western Front, nervously anticipating the Germans’ launch of a spring offensive. A wondering mongrel, Stubby latched onto the 102 nd Infantry regiment of Connecticut and accompanied it across the major battlefields of the Western Front in World War 1. Stubby would train with the Army every morning, running and exercising with the unit. He served for 18 months in World War I as part of the 102 nd infantry, 26 th Division in France. When it came time for the outfit to ship out, Conroy hid Stubby on boar… After living through a total of 17 battles, Sgt. But the dog was also the perfect mascot for a war that had introduced human carnage on a scale never previously seen. The accounts collected in Conroy’s scrapbook broadly sketch the narrative of Stubby’s service that became familiar in the immediate postwar years. There are sepia-toned photographs showing the dog in the French countryside, surrounded by soldiers on a wooden Ford Model T ambulance. While there is very little written record about Stubby’s keeper, J. Robert Conroy, we do know that from 1913 on, his life was very much intertwined with the U.S. government. But his story is worth revisiting, and not just as a cute, curious footnote. Courtesy of Division of Armed Forces/Smithsonian National Museum of America History. Today I found out about Sergeant Stubby, the most decorated war dog of WWI. He met three sitting presidents, traveled the nation to veterans’ commemorations, and performed in vaudeville shows, earning $62.50 for three days of theatrical appearances, more than twice the weekly salary of the average American. The stories are mostly written in a breathless tabloid tone that suggests the truth was less important to their authors than a good yarn: We can feel confident about certain details that emerge from the journalistic record: Stubby served in France, he was the beloved mascot for the 102nd, he was wounded at Seicheprey. In fact, he earned the rank of sergeant in combat. Canines have been utilized in times of war for centuries. Other breeds, other times The Germans claimed victory, leaving 81 Allied troops killed, 424 wounded, and 130 captured. “Even when the shells were singing, to see a line half a mile long of dog teams tearing down the mountain to the base depot, every blue devil whooping and yelling and trying to pass the one ahead.”. The highest military rank ever achieved by a dog is in fact Sergeant, which is what Stubby was promoted to in combat for his great courage on the battlefield. 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