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Sgt.
Stubby(1917-1926):
This American Pit Bull Terrier,
of unknown descent, was found by
Private John Robert Conroy on
the campus of Yale University,
in 1917, while training for
deployment to the European front
of WWI. Stubby was a brown and
white patched little puppy with
a 'stubbed' tail, hence his name
Stubby.
During the course of his stay at
the camp with Private Conroy,
and the other service men,
Stubby became familiar with all
of the bugle calls, the drill
marching routines, and even
learned to give a dog's version
of a salute. He would would put
his right paw on his right
eyebrow when a salute was
executed by others around him.
Stubby's ability to salute
struck a chord with the training
camp commander and the dog was
granted permission to remain
with Private Conroy, even though
pets were not allowed in the
training compound.
Training finally came to an end
and the camp packed up. Private
Conroy was not willing to
abandon Stubby when he left so
instead he smuggled his beloved
dog aboard the passenger truck
that was transporting the men to
the train depot. Next he
smuggled Stubby aboard the train
carrying the soldiers to the
seaport of Newport News,
Virginia. After successfully
reaching the seaport, Stubby was
concealed and brought on board a
naval transport ship, heading
for Europe. Stubby spent his
first twelve hours or so hiding
in the ships coal bin. Bye this
time the ship was too far out to
sea to turn back so Private
Conroy brought him out on deck.
Stubby became very popular with
all the sailors and soldiers,
and one sailor even made him a
set of 'dog tags' (I.D. tags
that soldiers wear to identify
themselves).
The long sea voyage came to an
end and now Stubby had to be
smuggled off the ship into a
foreign country, a real problem
for Private Conroy and his dog.
Private Conroy nestled Stubby,
who had grown quite a bit since
he was first discovered in the
training camp, under his arm and
draped his coat over his
shoulder so it would hang down
his body and conceal Stubby. It
worked. They had made it to
Europe.
It wasn't long before Private
Conroy's new commander
discovered that Stubby was with
him. After listening to the
story about Stubby's voyage, and
the other soldiers who were
attached to the dog, the
commander allowed the dog to
stay for 'morale purposes'.
Several weeks passed and then
the orders came down. Private
Conroy's division, the 102d
Infantry, which was a
sub-division of the 26th Yankee
Division, were heading to the
front lines in France. Stubby
was given special orders from
Private Conroy's commander
making him a member and special
mascot of the 102d Infantry
division. These orders allowed
him to go to the front lines
with Private Conroy and the rest
of the soldiers.
The 102d reached the front lines
on the 5th of February, 1918.
Things there were cold, wet and
very dangerous. The soldiers
lived in dug-out ditches called
trenches. Water and mud gathered
shin deep in these trenches,
making it very unhealthy for the
men and Stubby. Sniper fire was
exchanged between the Germans
and the allies constantly and
men were killed and injured
often. Stubby became accustomed
to his new surroundings and
learned to deal with the loud
rifles and heavy artillery fire.
All remained 'trench normal'
until the day a large gas attack
was launched by the Germans. The
gas was a mixture of chemicals
that burned the skin off, caused
the lungs to blister, and the
eyes to burn. This caused
blindness, loss of limbs, and
death in many cases. Stubby's
first battle injury occurred due
to gas exposure. He was taken to
a nearby field hospital and
nursed back to health. His
exposure to the gas made him
sensitive to even the slightest
hint of the vapor. This came in
handy several weeks later when
an early morning gas attack was
launched. The men in his portion
of the trench were sleeping and
were unaware that gas had just
been launched. Stubby picked up
the scent of the gas and ran
through the trench barking and
biting at the soldiers shirts
and boots waking them. Some of
the soldiers woke up and
realized what was happening and
sounded the gas alarm. Many men
were saved that morning. Stubby
left the trench to avoid the gas
and didn't return until it was
all clear.
After Stubby's return to the
trenches he became very useful
in locating wounded men in
'no-mans land'. No-mans land was
the ground area between the
Allied and German trenches. It
was called no-mans land because
if you became stuck there you
were almost sure to be killed by
snipers since the available
cover was very sparse. Stubby
would listen for injured and
lost men shouting in English. He
would then go out to them and
bark for paramedics or lead the
uninjured ones back to the
safety of the trenches. The men
were more than grateful and
treated Stubby as a golden asset
to the division.
One day, while on patrol in
no-mans land, Stubby heard a
noise coming from a small patch
of brush. He went to investigate
and found a German spy who was
mapping out the layout of the
Allied trenches. The German
soldier tried to call Stubby to
him but it didn't work. Stubby
put his ears back and began to
bark. The German began to run
and Stubby took off after him,
biting the soldier on his legs
causing him to trip and fall.
Stubby then attacked the
soldier's arms and finally bit
and held onto his rear end. Bye
this time some of the Allied
soldiers had come to see what
all the noise was. When they saw
that the dog had captured a spy
they cheered. Stubby had once
again proven himself a real
soldier. The commander of the
102d used this act of bravery to
put Stubby in for a promotion to
the ranks of the Noncommissioned
Officers by awarding him the
rank of Sergeant. He became the
first dog of his breed to be
given rank in the armed forces.
Again the Germans attacked,
except this time it was a full
out Infantry attack. German
soldiers poured over no-mans
land firing rifles and throwing
grenades. Stubby and Private
Conroy were tucked down in a
bunker. Private Conroy poked his
head and rifle out to fire at
the enemy and Stubby stepped all
the way out of the bunker. The
area looked clear but a German
soldier, out of Stubby's sight,
threw a grenade at the bunker.
The grenade explode and Stubby
caught a large amount of
shrapnel in his chest and right
leg. He lay there motionless and
limp and the men thought he was
dead. Private Conroy picked him
up and checked for a heartbeat
and breathing. Stubby was still
alive so Private Conroy rushed
him to the field hospital. The
doctors patched Stubby up as
best they could but he had to be
sent to a Red Cross recovery
hospital for follow-up surgeries
and recovery.
Stubby became well enough to
move around and spent his time
at the Red Cross hospital
visiting wounded men and
socializing with the very caring
nurses. He was a great help to
the morale of the wounded men
and again showed himself to be a
hero to the wounded. Stubby
eventually recovered fully and
was returned to the front lines
with the 102d Infantry Division.
WWI ended on the 11th of
November, 1918. Sergeant Stubby
served in 17 battles during his
stay in Europe. He also visited
with president Woodrow Wilson
after leading the American
troops in a pass and review
parade for the President in
Europe. When he met President
Wilson he gave his trademark
salute and the president loved
it.
After returning to the United
Stats in April of 1919, Stubby
was given several different
medals. One was a gold medal
from the Humane Education
Society, presented by General
John J. Pershing, head of the
American armies. He was entered
into a dog show, under protest,
and won. Stubby also became a
member of the American Legion,
visited the Whitehouse twice and
met both President Harding and
President Coolidge. He later
became an honorary member of the
YMCA and his membership card
guaranteed three bones a day and
a warm place to sleep. He was a
very popular and heroic dog,
loved by all.
Stubby died on the 16th of
March, 1926. He lived his final
years with his beloved owner
John Robert Conroy, the man who
had rescued the lost pup so many
years before. Stubby returned
the favor more than once and, I
believe, lived a very full and
happy life. Rest in peace
Stubby, and thank you for your
brave and loyal service 'over
there'.
For more
info on Sergeant Stubby:
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