Posted on 07/29/2013 7:06:33 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
• "Sergeant Stubby"
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.
• Early Life
Stubby was a stray Boston Terrier 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.
• Military Service
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.
• After The War
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.
Medals and Awards ...
• 3 Service Stripes
• Yankee Division YD Patch
• French Medal Battle of Verdun
• 1st Annual American Legion Convention Medal
• New Haven World War I Veterans Medal
• Republic of France Grande War Medal
• St Mihiel Campaign Medal
• Wound stripe, replaced with Purple Heart (1932)
• Chateau Thierry Campaign Medal
• 6th Annual American Legion Convention
• Humane Education Society Gold Medal
Stubby was also featured in the Brave Beasts exhibit at the Legermuseum in Delft, The Netherlands.
- Wikipedia
Various and sundry Pits and Bostons, some of that general era to show the 'styles' of the breeds back then and other images comparing the head shapes of the two breeds.
A Boston with Stubby below
Head shape is dramatically different.Jaw is totally different.
And then, a brown and white Boston, since Stubby was brown and white.
Look at this face. Seriously?
Typical Pit of the era who happens to look much like a Stubby-esque modern Pit
Pits come in many variations.
Stubby was at least a Pit mix but I do not buy the Boston angle.
I would be more inclined to think he had a bit of Bulldog in him.
Not that this nit-picking crap actually matters as the dog ~was~ a war hero.
still not ringing a bell - who is he?
lafayette, we are dogs.
I’ll concede you the point. He was brave, smart, and loyal, all of which matter more than his precise ancestry.
(Easier to see the blocky head in the pic you posted, too..)
Oh get off it.
I’m not much fond of false impressions anyway, regardless of dog type. Yes, I do not like any of the pit-type dogs, which encompasses many breeds but some have definitely had it bred out of them, such as Bulldogs, Bostons and so on. I used to defend them but no more. Even wrote a long paper for college about the poor PBTs. I still defend against BSL, but not because it’s discriminatory.
Bottom line though it bugs me when people get and give the wrong impression. Stubby was not a war dog, period. And doubtless he wasn’t the only mascot who warned his fellows of nearby strangers.
It bugs me that people have been made to believe later named Rin Tin Tins were descendants of the real Rinty, when they are not. It bugs me Bill Nack made everyone believe Secretariat lost a race because he had an abscess, but there is no actual evidence of that, yet people continue to propagate that lie so the superhorse had an excuse. Lies and deception bug me. You may think it’s minor but it is not.
My grandfather was also in France for WWI. So what? And by conservative standards, I can’t offer much service anyway, being a mere woman. By your definition, any dog living with a unit as a pet offered more service. So be it.
You are referring to me.
Sal, bear in mind we agree a lot. Here we know we part ways.
BTW, I’ve read some of the news articles of the day. He was indeed sometimes referred to as a Boston Bulldog, Boston Bull Terrier, and so on. AT THE TIME. Bostons were very different in those days and closer to their fighting past. History is not being changed, it is being turned back to what it actually was. He certainly did not have to be pure anything, as he was simply found in Hartford. Origins unknown.
Bear in mind that advocates try to tell us we can’t always tell a PBT type when dogs maul someone. Yet in this and other isolated “ambassador” cases they say he must be PBT. Which is it? Seems convenience determines when a dog is a PBT.
We disagree on these things. No doubt. We also agree a lot. Hope you don’t hold it against me too much. We’ve had some interesting discussions.
“Bostons were very different in those days and closer to their fighting past”
Yeah, I’ll say.
They went from functional dogs to smash-faced, skull-bulging, bug eyed, suffocating, trachea-collapsing train wrecks.
I’ve not personally met one that still had both eyes.
[brachycephalia is a sin against nature and the people who intentionally propagate them are criminals]
History always referred to Stubby as a bully breed of some sort.
This Boston Terrier jazz is new.
Not sure what the real agenda is behind it but IMO, it’s suspicious, at best.
Of course I don’t hold it against you.
I like you.
But Stubby wasn’t a BT.
;D
Thanks! Stubby looks like my wide-glide Pit, Boston Terrier mix, only mine crawls under the bed when it thunders, and would not have done well around gun and cannon fire. Stubby was a brave dog.
“He was brave, smart, and loyal, all of which matter more than his precise ancestry”
As for any dog, that’s all that really matters at the end of the day.
:)
My stomach writhes at the thought of our having a 7th-century fanatical jihadi fascist islumbist in our half-white hut.
He has perfected taqiyya, for the truth never drips from his lips. He would probably be dragged straight to hell by a
hundred burning, flesh-rending demons if it did.
He has bribed or threatened our once proud, Constitutional, and effective SC justices, senators, and representatives
into bending to the will of his master, and he has installed the mozzie bro-hood in the highest reaches of his cabinet.
Checks and Balances is gone. The Three Branches no longer rein in overreach by each other. We have a dictator.
Oh, and his army? Anyone in any of the armed forces who would trust or be loyal to him is a complete fool. He
discards their lives without a single qualm, and allows or causes them to assume quietus if they know too much.
The presstitutes may have awakened slightly, but if someone kills a few of them or gathers their dirt, they just dance
back into line, and the zero “worship” continues, but with fear and loathing, I certainly hope.
A lot of verbage when your whole intent is to smear a pit bull
I've got three, and know others who have them as well. They vary pretty significantly in appearance, but I see a Boston in the picture as well.
Great dogs - smart, funny and tough when need be.
Doggie Bump
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