In Memory of Sergeant Stubby - The Most Decorated War Dog of World War I (...Who May Have Invented Football's Halftime Show!)

Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant. Smuggled aboard the USS Minnesota, he served with the 102nd Infantry, 26th (Yankee) Division in the trenches in France for 18 months, participated in 4 offensives, and 17 battles. Stubby learned to warn his unit of gas attacks, located wounded soldiers, and could hear incoming artillery shells long before the rest of the unit. He even caught a German soldier by grabbing him by the seat of his pants and holding him there until American soldiers found him.

His actions were well-documented.

Stubby has been called the most decorated war dog of WWI and the only dog to be nominated for rank and then promoted to sergeant through combat.

Stubby was described in news stories as a Boston Terrier or "American bull terrier," a mutt, and a dog of "uncertain breed."

The brindle-patterned pup probably owed at least some of his parentage to the evolving family of Boston Terriers, a breed so new that even its name was in flux: Boston Round Heads, American...and Boston Bull Terriers.

Stubby was found wandering the grounds of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut in July 1917, while members of the 102nd Infantry were training. He hung around as the men drilled and one soldier in particular, Corporal James Robert Conroy (1892-1987), developed a fondness for him.

When it came time for the outfit to ship out, Conroy hid Stubby on board the troop ship S.S. Minnesota. As they were getting off the ship in France, he hid Stubby under his overcoat without detection. Upon discovery by Conroy's commanding officer, Stubby saluted him as he had been trained to in camp, and the commanding officer allowed the dog to stay on board.

Stubby served with the 102nd Infantry Regiment 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 Seicheprey, Stubby was on top of trench and wounded in the foreleg by retreating Germans throwing hand grenades. He was sent to the rear for convalescence and, as he had done on the front, improved morale. When he recovered from his wounds, Stubby returned to the trenches.

In his first year of battle, Stubby was injured by mustard gas. After he recovered, he returned with a specially designed gas mask to protect him.

Thus learning to warn his unit of mustard gas attacks, locate wounded soldiers in no man's land, and—since he could hear the whine of incoming artillery shells before humans—became very adept of alerting his unit when to duck for cover. He was solely responsible for capturing a German spy in the Argonne, leading to their unit's Commander nominating Stubby for the rank of Sergeant.

Following the retaking of Chateau-Thierry by the US, women of the town made Stubby a chamois coat embroidered with the flags of the allies, and upon which his many medals were pinned. He was later injured again, in the chest and leg by a grenade. The blanket also held his 3 wound stripes, three service chevrons and the numerous medals, the first of which was presented to him in Neufchateau, the home of Joan of Arc.

In the Argonne STUBBY ferreted out a German Spy in hiding and holding on to the seat of his pants kept the stunned German pinned until the soldiers arrived to complete the capture. STUBBY confiscated the Germans Iron Cross and wore it on the rear portion of his blanket for many years.

Stubby was also gassed a few times and eventually ended up in a hospital when his master, Corporal J. Robert Conroy, was wounded. After doing hospital duty for awhile he and Conroy returned to the 102nd and spent the remainder of the war with that unit. Stubby was smuggled back home in much the same way as he entered the War, although by this time he was so well known that you have to suspect that one or two general officers probably looked the other way as he went aboard ship to sail home and muster out with the rest of the regiment.

Oddly enough this not the end of the story, but rather in some ways the beginning. STUBBY became something of a celebrity.

He was made a lifetime member of the American legion and marched in every legion parade and attended every legion convention from the end of the war until his death. He was written about by practically every newspaper in the country at one time or another.

He met Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Warren G. Harding, and was a lifetime member of the Red Cross and YMCA. The Y offered him three bones a day and place to sleep for the rest of his life and he regularly hit the campaign trail, recruiting members for the American Red Cross and selling victory bonds.

In 1921 General of the Armies John J. Pershing who was the supreme commander of American Forces during the War pinned Stubby with a gold hero dog’s medal that was commissioned by the Humane Education Society—the forerunner of our current Humane Society.

When J. Robert Conroy went to Georgetown to study law, Stubby became the mascot for the football team joining a long list of Georgetown Hoya’s. Between the halves he would nudge a football around the field much to the delight of the crowd.

This little trick with the football became a standard feature of the repertoire of Georgetown mascots throughout the 20’s and 30’ and is thought by some to be the origin of the Half Time Show.

While still a student at Georgetown, Conroy was also employed as a special agent of the Bureau of Investigation, precursor to the FBI.

Stubby died in his sleep at the age of 10 (70 in Dog Years!) On this Day, March 16, 1926.

Conroy later presented Stubby to the Smithsonian in 1956.

Stubby received an obituary in the New York Times following his death in 1926. The obituary was half a page, much longer than the obituaries of many notable people of that time period.

In 2014, the BBC used Stubby as a Famous Figure to help teach children about the war, along with creating an animated comic strip to illustrate his life. Stubby was also featured in the 2018 animated film Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero.

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