Folks on Facebook remind me that today is National Dog Day so I’ll revive this post from 2012 on Sergeant Stubby;
So, this is from an email from my Dad. It sounded a little weird, but I Googled SGT Stubby and he was a real dog, according to the Smithsonian Institute. It may be an old story, but it’s news to me.
It looks like he was a stray that attached himself to a soldier, Private J. Robert Conroy, in the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division while the unit was on Yale Field in New Haven, Connecticut in 1917. Conroy smuggled him to France with the unit when they went to war. Conroy taught Stubby to salute the commanding officers, which saved him from being exiled from the unit.
Stubby excelled at finding wounded troops on the battlefield. After he himself was gassed and nearly died, Stubby could warn the troops of gas attacks. He also warned them of incoming artillery.
According to the Smithsonian;
Stubby was awarded many medals for his heroism, including a medal from the Humane Society which was presented by General John Pershing, the Commanding General of the United States Armies. He was awarded a membership in the American Legion and the Y.M.C.A.
When Private Conroy left the Army and went to law school, Stubby accompanied him. The dog died in 1926.
“Good Dog!” Have you ever wondered why dog spelled backwards is God?
If this ain’t cool I don’t know what is.
It’s always so good to read good things about animals. God gave them to us to accompany us on our journey through life, and no, you will not convince me otherwise…
My 16 year old Phuzzz the cat is dying of renal failure and some kind of chronic infection and I am so sad about it. She has been a wonderful companion for me through the years.
I am going to blubber like a baby when it finally happens.
I am certain that many tears were shed for Sgt Stubby. What a great testament to our animals and the good they do for us.
I feel for you – I went through the same thing with my cat. 18 of the best years of my life with that sweet little girl. I still cry now and then even after 10 months.
God sent Sgt Stubby to Private Conroy for a reason and he succeeded in his mission. Thanks for sharing such a great story.
I will ball like a baby when my 19 year old furbaby goes to kitty heaven.
bawl
Good dog!
More of the 26th ID history. Despite him being from one of the lesser YD regiments, he did good.
I’m not sure about all that. I know some current 102nd IN NG dudes here in CT that’re hot-sh*t.
History can always be rewritten.
My YD regiment, the 104th, didn’t make it through the early 1990’s reorg. At least one of the infantry units that fought with the 29th ID in WW I is still around.
Damn! It got misty and dusty in here all of a sudden.
I don’t know what I would do without my pets (6 cats, 1 mini schnauzer). Much as they sometimes irritate me, I couldn’t imagine being without each and every individual one of them.
We had a company mascot dog in Vietnam.
She was a Shepard mix named Mitzie.
She loved to fly. Mostly with the 2nd Flight Platoon guys and only on Log day flights.
She really hated the Dinks and rats. Always on the lookout for rats in the helicopter revetments area.
She pulled nighttime guard by sleeping on the front door threshold of the operations shack.
She would eat most anything but Ham & MF’ers were a No Go.
The company Armorer had a little pup named Mitzie II.
No idea what happened to them after we left Phu Bai in February of 72. Hope they didn’t end up in a roadside sandwich stand.
Dogs are my preference, but we still have a few cats to which I am attached. Either species, always glad to see you come home at the end of the day. Pvt. Conroy may have gone on to become an attorney, but I’d bet he shed the same tears as a street person when Stubby passed. There is no stronger bond as that between a man and his raised-from-a-puppy four legged friend.
Dogs and some cats are God’s gift to man, they are amazing animals and no one gives them credit for their intelligence…I like dogs better than most people anymore!
Desert….You’d appreciate the bumper sticker on the back of my truck. It reads as follows: The More People I Meet, The More I Like My Dog.
Bandit. German Shepherd rescued from a local shelter. Best dog ever. I still miss her.
Dogs or cats, I like either one, they’re great companions. Two felines have owned me for the past eight years (Littermates given to me right after I divorced the Ex-Monster) and the Beloved Mrs. Proud Infidel®™’s two Yellow Labs. We had a “Pound Dog” when I was a kid, “Hagar” was a great dog and a prowling opossum’s nightmare come true as well, I still miss that lovable Mutt!
Yeah, I like dags. I like carivans more.
That looks like the first motorcycle vest covered in medals that’s actually legit. Good job Stubby 🙂
The following is merely my opinion, and nothing more. Not interested in arguing it, don’t look for an argument if your opinion is different and you post it. As an animal lover, something several years ago caused me to form an opinion based on what I had seen many times. Fill in the blanks yourself after reading.
Logical to me is the fact that
men who hate and resent cats MIGHT just have some wife beating tendencies. Now that is NOT conclusive by any stretch of the imagination. However I do find a close correlation with the following observation: Men who do in fact beat their wives are HIGHLY likely to be 100% CAT HATERS!!!!! Before you start defending especially the latter class, please give serious thought to my observations. Were I to hazard a guess as to why the latter is probable, it would be that wife beaters hate women; and they ESPECIALLY hate cats which can not be controlled!
Anyone else find it interesting that National Dog Day is celebrated on the same day as Women’s Equality Day? 95 years ago women finally gained the right to vote and were recognised as being human beings just like men, and someone goes and sets up National Dog Day on the same day.
Talk about your basic disrespect.
Harding officially received Stubby at the White House in 1921; in 1924, the dog passed review for Harding s successor, Calvin Coolidge, three times. 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.