Sergeant Stubby

[balls & bones]

Died a hero .... zeker waar als ik dat zo lees!

[Patrol]

He wat een leuk stukje! En inderdaad bijzonder om het type te zien.

Ik las laatst in de Quest ook een stuk over de rol van honden in WOII; in dienst van het leger, er waren zelfs parachutistenhonden bij.

[Chione]

Sgt. Stubby, was the most decorated war dog in U.S. History. He was picked up as a stray in 1917, by Private J. Robert
Conroy when the homeless dog appeared at the training camp of the 102nd Infantry at Yale University. Conroy and
buddies kept Stubby with them through all their drills and training and, in July 1917, when it came time to ship out for
France, they smuggled Stubby aboard ship.
After further training, Stubby went with the 102nd Infantry to the front and was in the trenches 5 February 1918. He
participated in 17 engagements in four World War I offensives (Aisne-Marne, Champagne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and
Meuse Argonne).

Stubby participated in many veterans' parades across the U.S. and, with Robert Conroy, attended every American
Legion convention until his death. He appeared in a series of vaudeville shows in 1919 with Mary Pickford. He visited
the White House in 1921 to meet President Harding and again in 1924 to meet President Coolidge. In 1921, General
John J. Pershing awarded a gold medal to Stubby.

In 1921, Stubby's owner, J. Robert Conroy, was headed to Georgetown for law school and took the dog along.
According to a 1983 account in Georgetown Magazine, Stubby "served several terms as mascot to the football team.
Between the halves, Stubby would nudge a football around the field [with his nose], much to the delight of the crowd.
This trick became a standard feature of the repertoire of Georgetown mascots throughout the twenties and thirties. "
Stubby died in 1926. His mounted remains and medal-encrusted blanket were displayed for years at the National Red
Cross Museum and were presented in 1956 to the Smithsonian. After forty years in moth balls (literally), Stubby is now
on loan to the State of Connecticut, which featured the war hero at a statewide dog show.

PitBulls are widely used as therapy dogs, even today. Because of their high pain threshold and stable
temperament,they do not bite or snap when accidentally bumped by a wheelchair or walker. Helen Keller even had a Pit
Bull as her canine companion