The Army lagged behind its allies in both recruiting and preparedness. The YMCA conferred a lifetime membership on the dog, stipulating that he was entitled to “three bones a day and a place to sleep” for as long as he lived. He became the first dog to be given rank in the United States Armed Forces. Usually closed doors were flung open for Stubby. Courtesy of Harris & Ewing Collection/Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington. 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. He was also a mascot at Georgetown University. Stubby single-handedly captured a German … Yale University’s football stadium was the site of Camp Yale, where the soldiers of the 102nd Infantry, part of the New England–based 26th “Yankee” Division, were doing basic training prior to their deployment. According to Bausum, the two reportedly shook “hands.” Four months later, on April 29, 1919, Stubby and Conroy were demobilized at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. You’ve run out of free articles. Stubby was a dog of “ uncertain breed “, most likely a Bull Terrier or Boston Terrier. For his valorous actions, Stubby is recognized as the first canine ever promoted to the rank of Sergeant in … 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. Shellshock was regarded as a mental illness, the result of cowardice, a shameful disease. It was at Chemin des Dames that Stubby reportedly saved the 102nd from a gas attack. Stubby proved himself extremely useful on the battlefield. Stubby — who was believed to be a Pit Bull mix — was the most decorated war dog in U.S. history. Here are some interesting things to know about this four-legged hero. He looks like a ramrod sergeant: tough, unsmiling, no nonsense, with a coat covered in medals. 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. Canines have been utilized in times of war for centuries. He is the only dog that has been promoted to Sergeant through combat. Another photo, dated February 1919, captures Stubby in the town of Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours, in Lorraine in northeastern France. He was not an impressive sight: short, barrel-shaped, a bit homely, with brown and white brindled stripes. German Shepherd? Stubby was made a member of the Red Cross and the American Legion. For his keen instincts and fierce loyalty, Stubby is still recognized today as the most decorated canine in American history and the first promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the U.S. Army. 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. The page includes an infuriated letter to the editor by Richard L. Richardson, a Great War veteran from San Angelo, Texas. Saddlebags stocked with water and medical supplies were strapped to their backs. By June, however, Stubby had recovered and was back in action. The ceremony was presided over by Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American forces in Europe during the war. According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, he was the first dog ever given rank in the U.S. Army. The dog gave chase, eventually dragging the soldier back to the 102nd. Later, Stubby was injured during a grenade attack, receiving a large amount of … Malinois? French soldiers in trench in Northeastern France, circa 1916-1918. And there are newspaper clippings, the closest we have to a comprehensive anthology of the press coverage of Stubby. Among the allies, France had the largest and most diverse dog units. The Times describes how one morning, while most of the troops were sleeping, the division was assaulted by an early morning gas launch. He was recognized for his acts of heroism in several ways. Military canines are to be observed as partners, rather than subservients. The 102nd Infantry headquarters were set up near a dangerous spot 1½ miles north of Mandres-aux-Quatre-Tours. The journey to the theater of war has the quality of legend—a scruffy, peculiarly American brand of myth. Sergeant Stubby among his buddies leading a Legion parade. 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. Stubby, the hero war dog, is back in the state. In fact, he earned the rank of sergeant in combat. Little Stubby was a stray, who used to hang around the infantrymen who trained nearby his dwelling place. Today, he may be the last decorated World War I veteran that you can still see in the flesh. On July 6, 1921, a curious gathering took place at the State, War, and Navy Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. 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. Courtesy of Division of Armed Forces/Smithsonian National Museum of America History. He proved quick to learn. The New York Times describes how Conroy eluded the ship guards by concealing Stubby in his Army-issue greatcoat. Like Rags, Stubby was a stray, and fell in with some soldiers drilling in New Haven, Conn. Cpl. 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. Sergeant Stubby, a Bull Terrier or Boston Terrier, has been called the most decorated war dog of World War I, and the only dog to be nominated for rank and then promoted to sergeant through combat. War dogs weren’t the only area in which the U.S. military was wanting. 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. The 26th would end the war as one of America’s most battle-scarred. The troops traveled by rail to Newport News, Virginia, a newly designated port of embarkation for soldiers heading to France. A French sergeant and a dog, both wearing gas masks, on their way to the front line. 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. His presence during recovery is said to have thoroughly boosted the morale of his fellow wounded soldiers. Stubby came home to finish out his life as a normal dog. Stubby, a bulldog terrier with a short, stubby tail. 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. Here are some interesting things about Sergeant Stubby, the Heroic War Dog: The most famous animal to emerge from the war had a strong Connecticut connection: Sgt. In 1915, the French government asked Allan Alexander Allan, a Scotsman living in Alaska, to provide its army with sled dogs. He was a dog of uncertain breed, described in early news stories as either a Bull Terrier or Boston Terrier, with a short stature, barrel shape and friendly temperament. The puppy’s short tail gave him a name, and the Army gave him a mission. Sergeant Stubby, most likely a Boston terrier, was America’s first war dog. For capturing an enemy spy, Stubby was put in for a promotion to the rank of sergeant by the commander of the 102nd Infantry. When you think of a military dog, what breed comes to mind? 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.”. The 26th Division soon moved from Chemin des Dames to nearby towns of Saint-Mihiel and Seicheprey. Stubby was a brindle puppy with a short tail. Rags was another notable World War I dog. He attended the 1920 Republican National Convention, which culminated in the nomination of Warren G. Harding. Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, and Babylonians all used dogs in battle. There are sepia-toned photographs showing the dog in the French countryside, surrounded by soldiers on a wooden Ford Model T ambulance. He met Presidents Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge. But his story is worth revisiting, and not just as a cute, curious footnote. “We came into this war without an army … so now must build an entire new organization,” said Gen. Pershing in 1917. Stubby the dog, known to many as “Sgt. By joining Slate Plus you support our work and get exclusive content. We would like you all to meet Stubby, Sergeant Stubby to be more accurate. Stubby’s ears are pointed up, and he wears a gruff expression. It’s also been said that he is responsible for saving the lives of an entire company! Sergeant Stubby, a short brindle bull terrier mutt, was officially a decorated hero of World War I. Humble beginnings. While his trip overseas as a stowaway was not necessarily ideal,  Sgt. He served for 18 months in World War I as part of the 102 nd infantry, 26 th Division in France. Before the military started actual programs for these military dogs, they were ideal for breaking up enemy formations- running fearlessly into the sea of men- and taking them down one by one. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. At the peak of the war, Germany’s dog forces numbered more than 30,000: messengers, Sanitätshunde, draught animals, guards. 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. When the 102nd reached Chateâu Thierry in July, the dog had evidently learned to distinguish a khaki doughboy uniform from gray serge Germany garb: He recognized a uniformed enemy soldier. He even captured a German soldier. 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." Now you might be wondering how other war dogs end up earning their rank. Stubby was there for the duration. Stubby and company were placed in support positions to wait for a German breakthrough. Stubby’s rage at the sight of a German was reportedly so “savage,” in the words of an Associated Press account, that “it was found necessary to tie him up when batches of prisoners were being brought back, for fear that trouserless Germans would be reaching the prison pens.”, In the Argonne, Stubby sniffed out a lost German soldier hiding in nearby bushes. But given the documentation that has survived, it is difficult at times to separate the actions of the real dog from the mythology that sprung up around him upon his triumphant return with the victorious American Army. The clippings in Conroy’s scrapbook conflict on many particulars of Stubby’s story: Was he wounded in the chest or in the left foreleg in Seicheprey? This practice is to ensure due regard for these special dogs, as well as aid in the prevention of any possible abuse. Join Slate Plus to continue reading, and you’ll get unlimited access to all our work—and support Slate’s independent journalism. The attention seemed to bother him; the New York Times reported that the soldier was “a trifle gun shy, and showed some symptoms of nervous excitement.” When photographers snapped his picture, he flinched. J.A. And you'll never see this message again. Stubby was later injured by a grenade, but he survived the large amounts of shrapnel in his chest and leg. The dog, it was said, “was the only member of his regiment that could talk back to [Parker] and get away with it.”, Stubby remained with the 102nd throughout the training period in Neufchâteau. Dogs were also a key part of the Red Cross’ aid efforts, and every country had its own unit. A senior officer discovered the ruse. Siberian huskies, naturally, were relied on for transport. Other breeds, other times Slate relies on advertising to support our journalism. He served with distinction during WWI and had the honor of being the war’s most decorated war dog. But the dog was also the perfect mascot for a war that had introduced human carnage on a scale never previously seen. Stubby got his first war wound at Seicheprey, when a German shell fragment lodged in his left foreleg. Army via Wikimedia Commons. 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. The hall was packed with dozens of members of the 102nd—field clerks, infantrymen, generals—but one soldier in particular commanded the spotlight. 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. It is actually customary that all military working canines receive the unofficial title of NCO. He had reportedly comforted wounded warriors on bullet-strafed battlefields. At one point, the U.S. Army borrowed French-trained dogs for sentry duty, but the plan was eventually aborted because the dogs only responded to commands in French. Sergeant Stubby served as the infantry’s mascot during World War I. 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. 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. When the war ended on Nov. 11, 1918, Stubby was in Meuse-Argonne. All contents © 2021 The Slate Group LLC. THE TRUSTED RESOURCE FOR MILITARY FAMILIES, Sergeant Stubby: The Highest Ranking Military Dog in History. The Royal lion hunt reliefs from the Assyrian palace at Nineveh, about 645-635 B.C., housed at the British Museum. Homeless and apparently ownerless, he was adopted by Private J. Robert Conroy and began training with the 102nd Infantry’s 26 Yankee Division. When the time came to ship out for France, his new friend was not left behind. After living through a total of 17 battles, Sgt. On April 20, near Seicheprey, the Germany infantry led one of its first attacks against American troops. Later, Stubby was injured during a grenade attack, receiving a large amount of shrapnel in his chest and leg. When did Sgt Stubby die? France, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Russia all recognized the value of trained dogs on the battlefield. Stubby’s provenance is unknown. Harding officially received Stubby at the White House in 1921; in 1924, the dog passed review for Harding’s successor, Calvin Coolidge, three times. But the very fact of Stubby’s celebrity itself enlightens our understanding of the war and its aftermath. 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. It is a leather-bound scrapbook, kept by Conroy. Sergeant Stubby at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. The dog sits in dappled sunlight, in a reflective pose on a wooden chair against a brick wall backdrop. 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. Baldy of Nome, famed Alaskan sled dog, and his owner Allan “Scotty” Allan. Conroy faced a problem: What to do about the dog he had adopted and named Stubby? Millions of Americans heard tales of Stubby’s courage. 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. French Infantryman Gaston Baptiste befriends the duo and accompanies them along their epic journey through harsh conditions and incredible acts of courage. Stubby was described in contemporaneous news items as a Boston Terrier or "American bull terrier" mutt. A labrador, perhaps? In 1917, Stubby, a Pit Bull puppy with a “stubbed” tail, was living on the streets of New Haven, Connecticut near an Army training camp at Yale University. Stubby, the foundling mutt, was thus an apt mascot for the U.S. forces: unpedigreed, untrained, an underdog. The accounts collected in Conroy’s scrapbook broadly sketch the narrative of Stubby’s service that became familiar in the immediate postwar years. Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated dog of World War I. He was excellent in locating the wounded soldiers and getting them help. Airedale terriers were considered good messenger dogs. 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. 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. The conventional wisdom favored pedigreed dogs: Jack Russell terriers for chasing rats out of trenches; German shepherds, Chiens de Brie, and Alsatian sheep dogs for sentry duty. Sgt Stubby – The War Dog In the division of armed forces history at the Smithsonian National Museum of America History in Washington, there is a fascinating artifact, a testament to Stubby’s fame and the swath he cut across American popular culture in the immediate postwar years. In October 1917, one month after landing in France, the American Expeditionary Forces entered the Western Front. 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. After the war, Stubby was ubiquitous. Here the 26th Division was slated to board one of the largest freighters navigating the Atlantic, the SS Minnesota. 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. The dog hung around as the men drilled and one soldier, Corporal Robert Conroy, developed a fondness for the Boston Terrier. For a full 24 hours, German gas shells rained down. 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. Known as “Dead Man’s Curve” because the hazardous turn required oncoming vehicles to slow down, the location made easy prey for the German artillery. The setting for Stubby’s debut was the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. Stubby’s temperament and personality enchanted all of the men, but one soldier in particular by the name of Robert Conroy declared Stubby as his own. How about a small terrier? 1. “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.”. Conroy named the puppy Stubby, and the pup was soon the unofficial mascot of Conroy’s unit, the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division. Stubby went on to become a very brave soldier who won lots of medals before reaching the age of two. Because they wore the Red Cross symbol, these dogs were, in theory, protected from being shot by the enemy. Marshall/U.S. He is said to have captured a German spy. Stubby was found wandering the grounds of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticutin July 1917, while mem… “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. It was Parker who gave special orders that Stubby remain with the 26th. They established the first military dog school in 1884, and by the start of the Great War, they had almost 7,000 trained dogs. While the rank is obviously not recognized by the military on paper, it’s not unheard of for these well deserving dogs to be awarded with medals, recognition, and sometimes even funeral ceremonies (as we now know, thanks to Stubby the war dog). 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. The book is crammed with documents and ephemera: fan letters, poems, drawings, an invitation to the White House from President Wilson. Richardson writes: Stubby died in his sleep in Conroy’s arms in 1926. He endured an injury from a surprise grenade attack, and proceeded to bravely undergo surgery. 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