Sergeant Stubby (1916 or 1917 – April 4, 1926), was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat. America's first war dog, Stubby served 18 months 'over there' and participated in seventeen battles on the Western Front. He saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, found and comforted the wounded, and even once caught a German spy by the seat of his pants (holding him there until American Soldiers found him). Back home his exploits were front page news of every major newspaper.
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Early life
Stubby
was a stray pit bull type dog that appeared at Yale Field in New
Haven, Connecticut while
a group of soldiers were training. The dog hung around as the men
drilled and one soldier, Corporal Robert Conroy, developed a fondness
for the mutt. When it came time for the outfit to ship out, Conroy
hid Stubby on board the troop ship. The story goes that upon
discovery by Conroy's commanding officer, Stubby saluted him as he
had been trained to in camp, and the commanding officer was so
impressed that he allowed the dog to stay on board.[1]
Military service
Sergeant
Stubby wearing his uniform and medals
]Stubby
served with the 102nd Infantry, 26th
(Yankee) Division 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 Schieprey, 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.
After
being gassed himself, Stubby 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 could — 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.
Following the retaking of Château-Thierry by
the US, the thankful 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. At the end of the war, Conroy smuggled Stubby home.
Sergeant
Stubby's brick at the World War I Memorial
After
returning home, Stubby became a celebrity and marched in, and
normally led, many parades across the country. He met
Presidents Woodrow
Wilson, Calvin
Coolidge,
and Warren
G. Harding.
Starting in 1921, he attended Georgetown
University Law Center with
Conroy, and became the Georgetown
Hoyas' team
mascot.
He would be given the football at halftime and
would nudge the ball around the field to the amusement of the fans.