Baldy sired 28 of the sled dogs sent to France by Allan during WWI. Still, not everyone was captive to Stubby’s charms. 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! 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. Sergeant Stubby served as the infantry’s mascot during World War I. Sergeant Stubby died in 1926. Stubby appeared in dog shows for this still-evolving breed, and he was often reported to have been an American bull terrier, one of the early names for the new breed. The year 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. Like Rags, Stubby was a stray, and fell in with some soldiers drilling in New Haven, Conn. Cpl. Baldy of Nome, famed Alaskan sled dog, and his owner Allan “Scotty” Allan. 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. Stubby went on to become a very brave soldier who won lots of medals before reaching the age of two. The two were soon inseparable.*. 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. He was not an impressive sight: short, barrel-shaped, a bit homely, with brown and white brindled stripes. He attended the 1920 Republican National Convention, which culminated in the nomination of Warren G. Harding. All rights reserved. He had reportedly comforted wounded warriors on bullet-strafed battlefields. 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. He served for 18 months in World War I as part of the 102 nd infantry, 26 th Division in France. According to Bausum, the two reportedly shook “hands.” Four months later, on April 29, 1919, Stubby and Conroy were demobilized at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. 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. 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. After living through a total of 17 battles, Sgt. But the very fact of Stubby’s celebrity itself enlightens our understanding of the war and its aftermath. Other breeds, other times Stubby’s story started when he was found on Yale University Campus while a group of the 102nd Infantry was training. Stubby got his first war wound at Seicheprey, when a German shell fragment lodged in his left foreleg. Military canines are to be observed as partners, rather than subservients. He even captured a German soldier. 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. 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. On July 6, 1921, a curious gathering took place at the State, War, and Navy Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. He met Presidents Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge. 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. Sergeant Stubby, a short brindle bull terrier mutt, was officially a decorated hero of World War I. The book is crammed with documents and ephemera: fan letters, poems, drawings, an invitation to the White House from President Wilson. The Germans claimed victory, leaving 81 Allied troops killed, 424 wounded, and 130 captured. Stubby and company were placed in support positions to wait for a German breakthrough. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History via Carl Malamud. Miss Louise Johnson and Sergeant Stubby in a parade, May 1921. 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. Stubby connected with the 102nd Regiment of the 26thDivision while it was training for war on the Yale campus. After the war, Stubby was ubiquitous. Today I found out about Sergeant Stubby, the most decorated war dog of WWI. All contents © 2021 The Slate Group LLC. Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, and Babylonians all used dogs in battle. 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. Many of the countries involved in World War I had war dog training schools in place prior to the conflict. 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. He was so popular that his actions were well-documented in contemporary American newspapers. Germany had a long tradition of military dogs and had the war’s best-trained canine force. In October 1917, one month after landing in France, the American Expeditionary Forces entered the Western Front. When he was a puppy in 1917, Stubby was wandering around the fields of Yale University. War dogs weren’t the only area in which the U.S. military was wanting. Later, Stubby was injured during a grenade attack, receiving a large amount of shrapnel in his chest and leg. Sgt Stubby – The War Dog “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. 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