Dogs Making History: Sergeant Stubby
Today is Veterans Day, a national holiday to show our appreciation for the men, women – and yes, animals! – who have served in the United States military. Did you know that there are currently around 2,500 active Military Working Dogs– or MWDs – today, with around 700 canine service members deployed at a time? And since the K-9 Corps was established by the Army in 1942, more than 30,000 dogs have served in the U.S. military. To celebrate Veteran’s Day, Curbicus would like to introduce you to one of the brave military pups who inspired the K9 Corps’s creation: Sergeant Stubby, the most decorated war dog of WWI.
A Hero’s Humble Origins
In 1917, Stubby was a mixed-breed stray puppy known to hang around the Army training yards for the 102nd Infantry at Yale University, charming the young soldiers as they drilled. One soldier, Corporal James Robert Conroy (1892–1987), took a particular liking to Stubby, and when it came time for the 102nd to ship out to Europe, Conroy snuck Stubby onto the ship under his overcoat. The pair were eventually discovered, but Conroy had a dog trick up his sleeve: he instructed Stubby to salute the commander with his paw as he had been trained to do, and the amused officer allowed the pup to stay.
Private Stubby, Reporting for Duty
In Europe, Stubby was no pampered pet. The canine soldier served in the trenches of France with the 102nd for eighteen months, participating in four offensives and seventeen battles. He was wounded twice by grenade shrapnel, and once by mustard gas. After the latter incident, his human compatriots built him a specially-designed canine gas mask to protect from future gas attacks. He repaid the favor by learning to how to warn his unit of incoming attacks by using his canine senses, as he was able to smell gas and hear falling artillery shells long before the human soldiers and could warn them to take cover.
The German Spy versus Sergeant Stubby
The incident that earned Sergeant Stubby the rank he retired with wouldn’t be out of place in a spy thriller: while stationed in the Argonne, Stubby discovered a German spy in the US camp. He subdued the man and held him captive until reinforcements arrived. For this act of cunning and bravery, Stubby was awarded the rank of Sergeant, the only dog in history to have earned the rank through combat. He was ultimately decorated with several United States, British, and French combat awards, including two Purple Hearts. After his unit helped retake the French town of Château-Thierry, he was gifted a chamois coat that had been specially made by the locals to display his medals.
Retirement and Legacy
Stubby returned home with Conroy when the war ended in 1918 and received a hero’s welcome. He led military parades throughout the country, met three Presidents, and became the Georgetown Hoyas’ team mascot until his death in 1926, when he passed peacefully in his sleep. After his death, Stubby received a 15-paragraph obituary in the New York Times, as well as several books and film adaptations about his life. Stubby is preserved at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and is currently on display with his coat and medals in the “Price of Freedom: Americans at War” exhibit.
Written by Cara Broel, LinkedIn
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