Sgt Stubby; War Dog.
Stubby served with the 102nd Infantry Regiment in the trenches in France for 18 months and participated in four offensives and 17 battles. He entered combat on February 5, 1918, at Chemin des Dames, north of Soissons, and was under constant fire, day and night for over a month. In April 1918, during a raid to take Seicheprey, Stubby was wounded in the foreleg by the retreating Germans throwing hand grenades. He was sent to the rear for convalescence, and as he had done on the front was able to improve morale. When he recovered from his wounds, Stubby returned to the trenches. He ultimately had two wound stripes.
In his first year of battle Stubby was injured by mustard gas. After he recovered, he returned with a specially designed gas mask to protect him. He also learned to warn his unit of poison gas attacks, located wounded soldiers in no man's land and, since he could hear the whine of incoming artillery shells before humans, became very adept at letting his unit know when to duck for cover. He was solely responsible for capturing a German spy in the Argonne, leading to the commander of the 102 Infantry to nominate Stubby for the rank of sergeant. Following the retaking of Château-Thierry by the US, the women of the town made Stubby a chamois coat on which were pinned his many medals. He also helped free a French town from the Germans. He was later injured in the chest and leg by a grenade. At the end of the war, Cpl Robert Conroy smuggled Stubby home.
After returning home, Stubby became a celebrity and marched in, and normally led, many parades across the US. He met Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Warren G. Harding. In 1921 General John J. Pershing presented a gold medal from the Humane Education Society to Stubby. Starting in 1921, he attended Georgetown University Law Center with Conroy, and became the Georgetown Hoyas' team mascot.
Stubby received an obituary in the New York Times following his death in 1926. The obituary was half a page long.
Stubby served with the 102nd Infantry Regiment in the trenches in France for 18 months and participated in four offensives and 17 battles. He entered combat on February 5, 1918, at Chemin des Dames, north of Soissons, and was under constant fire, day and night for over a month. In April 1918, during a raid to take Seicheprey, Stubby was wounded in the foreleg by the retreating Germans throwing hand grenades. He was sent to the rear for convalescence, and as he had done on the front was able to improve morale. When he recovered from his wounds, Stubby returned to the trenches. He ultimately had two wound stripes.
In his first year of battle Stubby was injured by mustard gas. After he recovered, he returned with a specially designed gas mask to protect him. He also learned to warn his unit of poison gas attacks, located wounded soldiers in no man's land and, since he could hear the whine of incoming artillery shells before humans, became very adept at letting his unit know when to duck for cover. He was solely responsible for capturing a German spy in the Argonne, leading to the commander of the 102 Infantry to nominate Stubby for the rank of sergeant. Following the retaking of Château-Thierry by the US, the women of the town made Stubby a chamois coat on which were pinned his many medals. He also helped free a French town from the Germans. He was later injured in the chest and leg by a grenade. At the end of the war, Cpl Robert Conroy smuggled Stubby home.
After returning home, Stubby became a celebrity and marched in, and normally led, many parades across the US. He met Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Warren G. Harding. In 1921 General John J. Pershing presented a gold medal from the Humane Education Society to Stubby. Starting in 1921, he attended Georgetown University Law Center with Conroy, and became the Georgetown Hoyas' team mascot.
Stubby received an obituary in the New York Times following his death in 1926. The obituary was half a page long.