Sergeant Stubby, The Famous Dog Who Was A World War I Hero
Public DomainSergeant Stubby became one of the most famous dogs of World War I after he was smuggled to Europe with the 102nd Infantry Regiment.
No one knows exactly where Sergeant Stubby came from. But this tiny, brave dog made a huge difference to his human soldiers during World War I.
As the story goes, members of the 102nd Infantry Regiment were in the middle of training at Yale University in 1917 when they noticed a puppy wandering nearby. Apparently a friendly stray, the little dog was taken in by Private J. Robert Conroy, who named him “Stubby” because of his stubby tail. The pup soon started training alongside the 102nd Infantry. He learned bugle calls and even how to raise his right paw to his eyebrow in a salute.
And when the troops shipped out to Europe to fight in World War I, they smuggled Stubby along with them.
Public DomainGeneral John J. Pershing awarding Sgt. Stubby a medal. Stubby’s owner, Robert Conroy, is standing behind him in a suit.
He and the young men of the 102nd Infantry Regiment were quickly confronted with the terrifying reality of war. Machine guns rattled throughout the day, and choking mustard gas frequently rolled across the battlefields.
Stubby, though small, stepped up. He learned to sound the alarm about gas attacks, which saved soldiers who were sleeping, and he darted out into No Man’s Land to track down wounded men. The brave little dog even survived a shrapnel attack and once sniffed out a German spy who was attempting to draw a map of Allied trenches.
For this, Stubby was promoted to sergeant. He went on to shake paws with presidents, served as the official mascot of Georgetown University while Conroy studied there, and was given a half-page obituary in The New York Times when he died in 1926.
“Stubby took part in four major offensives, was wounded and gassed,” his New York Times obituary read. “He captured a German Spy and won more medals than any other soldier dog. He led the American Legion parades and was known to three Presidents. He was, indisputably, a fighting dog.”
