0:00

Either side Door balls. A quick

0:02

note that this episode features descriptions

0:04

of war, which does include some

0:06

violence and death. This

0:17

A Side Door a podcast on the

0:19

Smithsonian with support from Pr X. I'm

0:21

Lizzie Peabody. Okay,

0:32

pet people, Think about how many pets you've

0:34

ever had in your entire life. If.

0:36

You're like my dad. You've had a

0:38

lot, but there's one that holds a

0:40

very special place in your heart for

0:42

him. It was his dog in graduate

0:44

school, a golden retriever named Tessie who

0:46

attended every single class with him and

0:48

was so inseparable from him. he did

0:50

not even own a leash for her.

0:52

He still has a photo of her

0:54

above his desk, sitting in a patch

0:56

of ivy in full sunlight. Chris

0:59

Willingham says he's had this bond

1:02

to with a dog named Luca.

1:04

The if you've ever seen a dog like

1:06

the Puppy dans le Canard Lord or from

1:08

her food ahead of Bells Rail or they

1:10

even do the California children will lay on

1:13

your back to she did this was your

1:15

the builder Jews be it just been to

1:17

a silly dog. Luca was a

1:19

German Shepherd and she wasn't just a

1:21

pet like Chris, she was a marine.

1:23

When. I would get up she was dog in exotic

1:26

put are based on the guys new no more petting

1:28

at that point is you know was game to. See.

1:31

Chris was a dog handler in the

1:33

Us. Marine Corps for twenty years. Were

1:35

dogs serve important roles. Lukas.

1:38

Job was to sniff out

1:40

buildings and roadways for improvised

1:42

explosive devices or, I e,

1:44

these essentially homemade bombs. She

1:47

be our follow me twenty yards search

1:49

on the left hand saw the road.

1:51

And just look back at me and not move on

1:53

top of my hand over up my head right she

1:56

walked cross road for me and if I didn't she

1:58

would stay straight for me so she she would. I

2:00

have these little triggers like, okay, I'm

2:02

gonna check in with dad and then to drive on cue

2:04

like it was incredible how we were able to work together. Chris

2:07

remembers when he and Luca first arrived in Iraq.

2:09

This was 2007, the height of

2:12

the war, and he found himself stationed

2:14

in a base on the south side of Baghdad.

2:16

It was an area called the Triangle of Death and there

2:18

was a lot of insurgents, a lot

2:20

of IEDs in that area, and they started

2:23

launching a lot of car bombs and rockets

2:26

into Baghdad. Insurgent fighters

2:28

had buried IEDs along the roadways

2:30

as booby traps and it

2:32

was Luca's job to sniff out those

2:34

explosives. Chris remembers leading a

2:36

patrol with Luca, a group of Marines following

2:39

not too far behind, when they

2:41

arrived on a stretch of road with several

2:43

choke points. The choke point is a

2:45

vulnerable area where it kind of gets a little more narrow

2:48

and it's a prime place for IEDs

2:50

and the first two that Luca searched

2:52

that day were were clear there was

2:54

nothing there. But at the

2:57

next choke point, Luca's behavior started

2:59

to change. What

3:01

did that look like? It's more intense sniffing,

3:03

the tail starts going, now all of a

3:05

sudden it's like more intense details searching in

3:07

the area because she's starting to get trace

3:09

odors of something she's been trained to locate.

3:12

So Chris warned everyone to stay back while

3:14

the bomb team got a better look at

3:16

whatever Luca found. This meant

3:18

spraying a high-pressure water hose at the road

3:21

to clear away any dirt that might be

3:23

covering a bomb. And when

3:25

they set off the water charge

3:27

the IED detonated. The

3:30

explosion left a huge hole, five feet

3:33

deep by 12 feet wide, big enough

3:35

to fit a Volkswagen Beetle. And

3:38

we were about to walk through that area

3:40

if it wasn't for the detection capabilities of

3:42

Luca. Wow, oh wow.

3:45

That saved several flag-draped

3:48

coffins from going home to their families.

3:52

But Chris knows firsthand that the story

3:54

doesn't always end this way. He

3:56

says that while he was in Iraq a fellow dog

3:58

handler and his dog were killed by an

4:00

explosion. He and Chris had been

4:03

roommates, sharing a tent with their dogs. And

4:05

after getting the news of his friend's death, Chris returned

4:07

to his tent at the end of a long day.

4:10

That was the first time it kind of hit me. And I broke

4:13

down and started crying. And Luca was across

4:16

the tent from me. She saw me breaking down and

4:18

she got up and came over and put her head

4:21

on my leg and just knew in

4:23

that moment of weakness, I needed some comfort.

4:25

Was that typical of Luca? To lay her

4:28

head on your leg? Oh, no, no, ma'am.

4:30

I think that's what makes it more special.

4:32

Like, it wasn't a typical behavior

4:34

from her, but it was indicative of how in

4:36

tune that dog was with my energy,

4:39

my emotions and when her handler's

4:41

having a tough time, like, she's going to give

4:43

some comfort. Let me help this guy out. That's

4:45

my Marine. And we take care of each other.

4:47

And that's just that teamwork. Luca

4:49

led over 400 patrols

4:51

in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

4:54

None of the soldiers in her squad were ever

4:56

injured when she was on duty, although

4:59

she lost her front leg in an explosion. And

5:01

when she retired, Chris adopted her.

5:04

She would still do the puppy dance with three legs.

5:06

She was still do the funky chicken with three legs.

5:09

She still just embraced life. You could

5:11

see her happy spirit or happy energy.

5:14

Didn't slow her down a bit. This

5:19

time on Side Door, the stories

5:22

of furry and feathered war heroes

5:24

memorialized at the Smithsonian. Told

5:26

over three chapters, from dogs to

5:28

birds and cats. We explore how

5:31

animals can remind us of our

5:33

own humanity in some of life's

5:35

most time times. Those

5:39

animals killed. Coming right up.

5:42

I need a nap. Hey,

5:56

There's Side Door bulls. A Quick favor.

5:58

We're connecting a listener survey. And we

6:00

be really grateful if you could take a few minutes to

6:02

fill it out and give us a sense of who you

6:04

are. Please. Visit Survey

6:06

that prx.org flash side

6:09

door to take the

6:12

survey that survey.px dot

6:14

org. Placid. And.

6:17

Think you. Can.

6:20

Do one. For. Heaven's Sake is

6:22

just. Frankly, That

6:24

knows a lot about. Birds. Pretty

6:27

good one type of bird. I've kind

6:29

of become mister Presume. That.

6:31

Have a daughter. Is that Doctor pigeon? Thanks.

6:35

Official title is Curator of Military

6:37

History at the Smithsonian National Museum.

6:39

Of American History. He showing

6:42

me a pigeon from the museum

6:44

exhibition Price of Freedom and. Because.

6:47

I don't want to be rude. I'm in a lip

6:49

sync. Describe it to you. Suspicions.

6:51

He's seen better days. If

6:53

you saw him on the

6:55

sidewalk you'd probably go groceries.

6:57

He is not a healthy

6:59

looking robust specimen. yeah of

7:01

the homing pigeon. Instead you

7:03

see this kind of Gonz.

7:07

Pigeon. Latching alright. What? have a

7:09

right leg get? His feathers are missing

7:11

in some cases are gonna fallen off

7:13

to be yeah right a tail. Smart

7:17

luck about him. He looks like he's little.

7:19

What? what? what? What? He's. Noble he has.

7:21

He has kind of a noble

7:23

gaze on him and yet this

7:25

is one of the most beloved

7:27

treasures in the entire Smithsonian Institution.

7:30

This birth name is Sharon Me

7:32

and he my dear friend is

7:35

a decorated war hero. But.

7:37

How did this scruffy little bird accomplish

7:39

such a big seat? Sourced.

7:41

Or really needs to begin on

7:43

the darkness that early morning hours

7:46

of September. Twenty Six Nineteen eighteen.

7:51

These are the final days of World

7:53

War One. Brits, friends and Americans were

7:55

fighting their way through Eastern France toward

7:57

the German border. It's what's known as

7:59

the. News Argun Offensive, the

8:01

deadliest military campaign in

8:03

American history. Over

8:05

26,000 Americans killed, averaging

8:08

something like 550 or 559 killed in action every

8:10

day for

8:13

47 consecutive days. Among

8:16

the many American soldiers in this

8:18

offensive was the 77th Division, known

8:20

as the Metropolitan Division, because most of

8:23

the soldiers came from New York City. It

8:25

was said that the members of this division

8:28

speak 42 languages, not including English. These

8:30

are, quote, hyphenated Americans, a lot of

8:33

first-generation Americans, a lot of children also,

8:35

immigrant families. These Americans

8:37

were on a mission to fight through

8:39

the Argun Forest in France and

8:42

cut off a vital German supply route. But

8:44

this forest was filled with German soldiers,

8:47

and the Metro Division would have

8:49

been facing all sorts of deadly

8:51

obstacles, including poisonous gas, hidden

8:53

machine guns, perhaps snipers,

8:57

unknown obstacles. This is very, very

8:59

difficult terrain, very, very difficult terrain.

9:01

And the soldiers were ordered

9:03

to only move forward. The

9:06

key here is, once you capture

9:08

ground, you will not retreat. You

9:10

must continuously move through the forest. You must continuously

9:12

move forward. The Metro Division was

9:14

broken down into smaller groups called

9:16

battalions, each with as many as

9:18

a thousand soldiers in them. Of

9:21

all the battalions that made up the

9:23

Metro Division, one of them was so

9:25

successful at moving forward through the dense

9:27

woods that it actually left all the

9:29

others behind. What they

9:31

discover is that they so far

9:33

outpaced their supporting flanks that the

9:35

Germans have been able to infiltrate

9:38

behind them and are beginning to

9:40

surround them. The

9:43

commanding officer of this battalion was

9:45

Major Charles Whittlesey, a lawyer

9:47

from New York City. He was

9:49

tall and slender, bookish and quiet. Not

9:53

the kind of person that one would think of as

9:55

a courageous leader. And

9:58

yet, Whittlesey's battalion was moving

10:00

faster than any other, which

10:02

is how he found himself surrounded. And

10:05

when Whittlesey realized his battalion was alone, he

10:07

told his men to hunker down on the

10:09

steep slope of a ravine while he called

10:11

for backup. But

10:14

you have to remember, this was 1918,

10:16

and calling for backup

10:18

wasn't so simple. Radios

10:21

were cutting edge technology back then. You

10:26

know, they can work in the perfect condition,

10:28

but the trenches and the combat

10:31

of World War I, you have mud, you have water,

10:33

you have concussion in shock.

10:37

Radios aren't really built yet for these to withstand these,

10:39

so they're not 100% reliable. Wired

10:42

forms of communication, like a telephone or

10:44

a telegram, those existed at the time,

10:46

and they were reliable. But

10:48

those wires could be cut. And

10:51

literally they can be wired, tapped. You can just

10:53

go right over to that wire, clip another wire

10:55

to it, and listen in on your call and

10:58

just tap the line. So most

11:00

communication was done the old-fashioned way. A

11:02

string of men were positioned every few hundred

11:05

feet, and they'd run messages back and forth,

11:07

like a relay race. But

11:09

Whittlesey's battalion had been cut off and

11:11

surrounded by German soldiers, so

11:13

they only had one form

11:15

of communication left. That's

11:18

the homing pigeon. It's a

11:20

one-way form of communication, so it's limited. The

11:22

pigeon can get from A to B, but it can't necessarily

11:25

go back from B to A. That's because

11:27

these pigeons have an uncanny ability to find

11:29

their way back to their loft, from

11:32

just about anywhere. But once

11:34

they're back at their loft, they're home. They

11:36

stay there. So the message only goes one

11:38

way. But as a communication

11:40

method of last resort, they are really

11:43

reliable. Now Whittlesey's battalion had

11:45

a couple of men specialized in

11:47

pigeons, what are known as pigeoneers.

11:50

They carried pigeons in a basket on their

11:52

backs as they marched through the forest with

11:54

other soldiers. When Whittlesey took

11:56

stock of how many pigeons they had, he

11:59

counted eight. Eight pigeons.

12:02

Eight shots at getting a message back

12:04

to headquarters. He sent

12:06

the first one off with a message requesting

12:08

that headquarters shoot some artillery into the woods

12:10

around them to keep the Germans away. When

12:13

no artillery came, he assumed the

12:16

pigeon never made it back to base. As

12:20

the day wore on, the situation got worse.

12:23

Germans were shooting mortars at Whittlesey's

12:25

battalion, so he sent

12:27

another pigeon, this time saying, look,

12:30

we're taking heavier casualties, we're running low

12:32

on ammunition, we need medical supplies, we

12:34

need food, the situation's very serious, and

12:36

the German attacks are getting more and

12:38

more and more ferocious. And

12:41

still, no help arrived. The trapped men

12:43

had no choice but to wait as

12:45

food and ammunition dwindled, shells

12:48

exploding around them. Whittlesey

12:50

told his men to hold their

12:52

positions at all costs. On

12:57

the second day of being trapped, Whittlesey sent

12:59

out more pigeons, not knowing if any had made

13:01

it the 25 miles back

13:03

to headquarters. By this time, there

13:06

were only a few birds left. The

13:08

message he sent with the sixth pigeon showed

13:10

just how bad the situation had become. He

13:13

says, situation is cutting into our

13:15

strength rapidly, men are suffering from hunger

13:17

and exposure, the wounded are in a

13:20

very bad condition, cannot support be sent

13:22

at once. Like at

13:24

headquarters, nobody knew what had

13:26

happened to Whittlesey's battalion, until a

13:29

pigeon arrived from another unit's commander.

13:32

It had a message with coordinates on it, and

13:34

headquarters figured those coordinates were the location

13:36

of the Germans attacking Whittlesey's

13:38

battalion. And the

13:40

idea is, okay, well, let's

13:42

drop artillery around the Americans to

13:45

kind of push the Germans back, right,

13:47

give these guys some protection. There

13:50

was a problem with these coordinates. What

13:55

headquarters didn't realize is

13:57

that it didn't have the coordinates for the Germans. It

13:59

actually... actually had the coordinates for Whittlesey's

14:02

battalion. And this was

14:04

a big problem. Since they have

14:06

the wrong position, instead

14:09

of dropping the shells around the Germans, they

14:12

dropped them right on the Americans. Oh no.

14:14

So after everything that the men have been

14:16

going through, all of a sudden

14:18

the world literally is exploding around them. Ugh.

14:23

Just when they thought it could not

14:25

get any worse, this lost battalion was

14:27

being shelled by the Americans. Friendly

14:30

fire. Surrounded by smoke and

14:32

flying dirt, bleeding from a piece of shrapnel

14:34

that had hit his nose, Whittlesey yells for

14:36

one of the Pigeonniers and grabs a notepad.

14:39

And jots off a very succinct

14:41

message that reads simply, we

14:44

are along the road parallel 276.4. Our

14:47

own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on

14:49

us. For heaven's sake, stop it. The

14:52

Pigeonnier, a man named Omer Richards, rolls

14:54

a tiny piece of paper and stuffs

14:56

it into a little metal cylinder about

14:58

the size of a pen cap. And

15:01

then he looks in the Pigeonn basket. There

15:03

are only two left. He

15:05

grabs one to tie the message to. For

15:08

whatever reason, it's not entirely clear, maybe a

15:10

shell exploded right then or something. The

15:13

bird freaked and Richards' grasp

15:15

wasn't firm enough. The Pigeonn broke free

15:17

and took off. At

15:20

this point, according to

15:22

accounts, Whittlesey glared at Richards

15:24

and uttered an uncharacteristically rude

15:27

word. He dropped his own bomb, an

15:29

F-bomb. At this point, Richards apparently

15:32

apologized to his commander and very carefully removed

15:34

the last Pigeonn, although I'm presuming he probably

15:36

had a death sprip on that bird. Yeah,

15:38

yeah. Richards attached the letter

15:40

to the last Pigeonn's leg and tossed

15:42

it up into the air, all

15:45

eyes on this little bird. A

15:49

private named John Nell later wrote, We

15:52

knew without a doubt that this was our last

15:54

chance. If that one lonely,

15:56

scared Pigeonn failed to find its loft,

15:59

our fate was... Shells

16:01

are falling and here this tiny little pigeon,

16:04

this one pound of flesh

16:06

and feathers, the savior, wings

16:09

are outstretched, the bird rises into the

16:11

air, it circles two or three times

16:14

and then lands on a tree limb a

16:17

short distance downhill. What? The

16:19

pigeon stopped in a tree to preen its

16:21

feathers. The world was exploding all

16:24

around but the pigeon was in no rush.

16:26

It was like self-care, people. Richards

16:29

is yelling at the bird, Whittlesey, according

16:31

to some, yelled, boo, men

16:33

are throwing sticks and rocks and anything

16:36

they have nearby to get the bird

16:38

to move. And what does the

16:40

pigeon do? Cops to a higher branch. At

16:44

this point, Richards, who's openly swearing, gets

16:46

out of his protective

16:48

foxhole. Mind you

16:50

guys, again, artillery's still falling all over. And

16:53

Richards begins climbing up the tree. Richards

16:55

shakes the tree as he climbs toward the

16:57

bird, probably shouting some choice words at it.

17:00

He reaches up and is able to grasp the

17:03

perch where the pigeon is at limb and he shakes the

17:05

branch and at last the pigeon flies

17:07

off. The pigeon flies up

17:10

above the tree line and circles a couple of

17:12

times to get its bearings. And

17:14

just when it starts to turn

17:16

towards headquarters, a shell

17:19

explodes directly beneath it. And

17:21

the people saw it flutter to the ground near

17:23

the bottom of the ravine. Oh my

17:25

gosh. So at this point, it seems like, well, there's that.

17:28

The last pigeon had been blown out of the

17:30

sky. The battalion was taking

17:32

fire from all sides, out of food,

17:34

scared for their lives and out of

17:36

hope. But then something

17:40

miraculous happened. About

17:44

an hour after Whittlesey and Richards released

17:47

their final pigeon, a bedraggled

17:49

bird dropped out of the sky

17:52

back at military headquarters. And kind

17:54

of flopped on the roof of the loft. And

17:57

when the loft attendants... When

18:00

they checked on the bird, they found the message

18:02

tube hanging from the remains of the right leg,

18:04

just by like the scanner ligaments. Someone

18:09

grabbed the message and then grabbed

18:11

the phone. Meanwhile, medics

18:13

quickly bandaged up the bird's wounds.

18:17

As to quote the poetic phrase, for this bird, the

18:19

war is over because of the wounds. When

18:23

the officers read the message, they

18:25

realized what they'd done. The

18:29

next morning, back in the ravine,

18:31

Whittlesey's battalion woke up to silence,

18:34

not knowing if or when the

18:36

artillery attacks would resume. But

18:39

at 10 a.m. More

18:41

artillery begins. And

18:43

so for those there, it's like, well,

18:45

this time we're going to be wiped out. We're going to be annihilated.

18:48

They listen as the shelling moves closer and

18:51

closer to their battalion. And then suddenly

18:53

it stops, skips

18:55

over them. And hits the Germans on

18:57

the other side of the ravine. The

19:00

lost battalion realized their last

19:02

pigeon must have made it.

19:04

And with the Americans now bombing in the

19:06

right place, the rest of the battalions were

19:09

able to finally catch up to Whittlesey and his men. Within

19:12

days, the Germans were forced to

19:14

retreat. Whittlesey's lost battalion

19:16

was now free to leave the ravine

19:18

and walk out of the Algun Forest,

19:21

nearly a week after being trapped behind enemy

19:23

lines. Of the 687 men

19:27

that we know entered the ravine

19:29

between the 2nd and 7th of October,

19:32

only 194 walk out. So

19:34

we're talking of a casualty rate of 72 percent.

19:44

But that casualty rate could have been

19:46

even higher. In fact,

19:48

Whittlesey's battalion has become known

19:50

quite famously as the Lost

19:52

Battalion. Not because headquarters didn't know

19:54

where they were, but because everyone

19:56

assumed none of the men would survive.

20:01

And who deserved credit for saving these lives?

20:04

Well, back in America, a few months

20:06

after the Lost Battalion was found, a

20:09

military officer stepped off a ship coming

20:12

from the front lines. He grabbed a

20:14

pigeon, held it high for reporters

20:16

to see, and said, This

20:19

little pigeon, known as Cheramee,

20:22

this is the pigeon that, quote, save

20:24

the Lost Battalion. Right

20:29

there at the dock of Hoboken, this pigeon

20:31

passes in the legend. Cheramee becomes legend. And

20:34

now we have this little, little hero

20:37

is linked to the heroism of the Lost Battalion.

20:40

And the public have kind of a face, if you will,

20:42

they'll be a pigeon face, and a

20:44

name, Cheramee. Major

20:47

Charles Whittlesey was awarded the Medal of Honor

20:49

in December 1918. He

20:52

and the rest of the Lost Battalion

20:54

became national celebrities back in America. Their

20:57

story was told and retold in countless

20:59

books, news articles, and movies. One

21:02

historian equated the significance of the Lost

21:04

Battalion with the Alamo. There's

21:07

even a physical memorial in the Argonne Forest

21:09

where the men were trapped. And

21:11

if you look closely at the monument, you

21:14

can see a pigeon carved

21:16

into the rock. Cheramee.

21:25

Still ahead, how cats found their

21:28

sea legs, and how a

21:30

little dog won the hearts of both France

21:32

and America. We'll

21:35

have more on that after the break. Number

21:48

2. Happy Birthday, Lieutenant Whiskers. Herman

22:00

is fingerprinted, or is it paw printed,

22:02

so he can get an official Coast

22:04

Guard patch? This is a newsreel from

22:06

World War II. Herman

22:08

the Cat is drinking milk from a spoon and

22:11

jumping onto a boat. And Herman

22:13

gets the rating of EM, that's expert

22:15

Mauser. After

22:17

noontime rations, the ambassador of ill will

22:19

to rats starts out on his first

22:21

tour of duty, a prowl of his

22:23

pal's boat. This newsreel has actually been

22:25

circulating on my social media channels lately,

22:28

and it's pretty popular because, well, a

22:30

cat joining the Coast Guard is pretty

22:32

darn cute. But when I first

22:34

saw it, I was like, how can a

22:36

cat join the Coast Guard? Don't cats hate

22:38

following directions and also, you know, water? They're

22:40

actually better suited for life on the

22:42

sea than humans are. Really?

22:45

Because cats pick their own vitamin C, where

22:48

humans don't. This is Scott Christensen,

22:50

author of the book Cats in the

22:52

Navy. And cats don't need too much

22:54

fresh water. They get most of the moisture they need from

22:57

their food they eat. And

22:59

they can drink a little bit of seawater and be

23:01

OK because they have a really good filter system. Scott

23:04

says cats are, in fact,

23:06

the perfect seafaring animals. Go

23:09

figure. And they've been sailing off to

23:11

sea for as long as humans have, which

23:13

is a pretty long time. There

23:17

are ancient Egyptian tomb paintings showing cats on

23:19

boats on the Nile being used to hunt

23:21

birds in the reeds. Others

23:23

love cats because they eat rats. And

23:25

rats have always been a problem for

23:27

ships. They eat the food, they

23:29

chew through the materials, such as the ropes,

23:32

the sails. They spread disease. A

23:34

crew that's become incapacitated by disease

23:36

will disable entire ship. Cats

23:39

became essential members of the crew of any

23:41

ship. In fact, it was sailors

23:43

who spread cats around the world. The

23:47

Phoenicians adopted them from the Egyptians to

23:49

spread them throughout the Mediterranean. Wow. Vikings

23:51

took them, spread them throughout Europe. Really?

23:53

There were Viking cats? Oh

23:56

yeah, absolutely. And then

23:58

the... The British, the

24:01

French, the Spanish-Portuguese during the age of

24:03

sail spread them throughout the Americas and

24:05

through the Pacific. The British

24:07

sailor, Captain Cook, recorded an exchange he had

24:09

with islanders in the South Pacific back in

24:12

the late 1700s. They

24:14

brought all these gifts for the islanders, textiles

24:17

and jewelry and hardware,

24:20

but the islanders were just fixing the cats.

24:22

They didn't want that junk. They wanted the

24:24

cats. But the

24:26

Cook Rosary says we could not afford to give them

24:28

a cat because cats were considered part of the crew

24:31

and it would be like giving up a cook or something.

24:35

In the end, the captain, Aquias, gave the

24:38

locals a cat and he said they paddled

24:40

off with an abundance of joy. From

24:43

then on, whenever ships came through the area, the

24:45

locals just wanted enough of the heavy cats to

24:47

trade. Even

24:49

navy ships throughout history always had at

24:51

least one cat on board. When

24:53

America entered World War II, you could expect

24:55

to find at least a dozen cats on

24:57

any one ship. Some

25:00

of the larger ships could have up to 20,

25:02

25 cats and they would divide up

25:04

the ship among themselves. Some cats even

25:06

had their own uniforms and hammocks to sleep

25:08

in so they wouldn't get seasick. It's

25:11

adorable and you should definitely Google

25:13

cats in hammocks on ships. You'll

25:15

thank me later. And cats

25:17

adapted as warfare changed. Scott

25:20

told me that these seafaring felines

25:22

were still expert mousers like Herman.

25:25

But sailors found that cats could serve as

25:27

early warning signals for air raids or gas

25:29

attacks. So, whoa. Sailors became very

25:31

good at watching how they twitch their

25:33

ears or how they would eat their

25:36

food. So in the days before

25:38

radar, it was an indication that maybe

25:40

there were aircraft coming into attack or small boats

25:43

coming to attack. But after World

25:45

War II, the military started phasing out the use

25:47

of cats on ships. With new

25:49

fumigation methods, rats weren't as much

25:51

of a problem anymore. But the

25:53

real reason might have been more political. greatly

26:00

reduced. During a 1953 debate

26:03

over military spending, Navy admirals were like,

26:05

hey, don't cut our budget. We need

26:07

every penny we can get. But

26:09

one congressman was like, oh, you don't have

26:12

enough money, do you? Well we have

26:14

here this report that there's

26:16

a ship that has a three-man committee to

26:18

plan a birthday party for a cat. The

26:21

admirals were like, well, isn't this

26:23

just perfect? Torpedoed by a

26:25

cat's birthday party. Combine that with stricter

26:28

quarantine laws at seaports, and you'll be

26:30

hard-pressed to find a cat on any

26:32

ship these days. But

26:37

that doesn't mean there's not a cat-sized hole. Or

26:40

20. On American naval ships.

26:43

I know a cat birthday party sounds

26:45

frivolous, but Scott says that was at

26:47

least partly the point. It helped

26:49

ease sailors' minds when they were facing deaths

26:51

on a regular basis. It

26:54

was just to be filled with anxiety, be

26:56

stressed out. But having a cat around gave

26:58

them affection that's going about the

27:00

day as if nothing is happening gave

27:03

them a nice distraction. Chapter

27:08

3. Is that a terrier

27:10

in your coat, Private? We

27:20

know from stories about dogs like Luca.

27:22

You know, the search dog we met

27:24

at the beginning of this episode. That

27:26

dogs, like cats, perform vital roles in

27:29

wartime. But sometimes the most

27:31

vital role a dog can play is

27:33

just to be a best friend. I

27:36

want to share the story of one dog

27:38

who was never officially trained. In

27:40

fact, he was a stray who snuck

27:42

into the ranks of the American armed

27:44

forces and stayed there. And

27:47

even though he never officially joined the

27:49

military, he's now part of the military

27:51

exhibit at the National Museum of American

27:54

History. We

27:56

are in the World War I section right

27:58

across from our World War II. area. You

28:00

can hear all those videos. We

28:03

have military equipment. We

28:05

have the little trench

28:07

periscope and we have a dog. Jennifer

28:10

Jones is Curator of Military History at

28:12

the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

28:14

Who is this little doggy in the window?

28:18

Well this little doggy in our window

28:20

is Stubby. And

28:22

Stubby is a brindle terrier. Stubby sort of

28:24

looks like a pit bull with the face

28:26

of a boxer, but not nearly as big

28:28

as either of those dogs. Maybe 25

28:30

pounds. And it took

28:32

me a second to realize that this

28:34

is the actual Stubby. He's

28:36

been stuffed. I think he

28:39

is just the

28:41

brindled skin of the dog

28:44

and he actually

28:46

has his cremated remains

28:48

on the inside. So how

28:51

did this little dog, who's not

28:53

even a trained military dog, earn

28:55

his way into this glass display?

28:58

His exploits. During

29:04

World War One, college campuses

29:06

across America were being transformed

29:08

into military training grounds. Soldiers

29:11

used the fields to practice marching,

29:13

shooting, and digging foxholes. In

29:16

early 1918, shortly after America entered

29:18

the war, Yale University became one

29:20

of these boot camps, with

29:23

more soldiers arriving every day. As

29:25

more and more soldiers arrived

29:27

and you've got more and more cooking

29:29

going on and more and more mess

29:32

tents serving food, this

29:34

camp attracted quite a

29:36

few friendly dogs. This

29:39

is Ann Bossom. As my dad would

29:41

say, Bossom rhymes with awesome. And Ann

29:43

is the author of the awesome book,

29:46

Sergeant Stubby. She says neighborhood

29:48

dogs came from all around to snack

29:50

on the soldier's food scraps. And

29:53

one of those dogs was this, about

29:55

two feet tall, two feet long, white

29:58

chest, white on its face, white

30:00

paws, seemingly a stray

30:03

dog. This dog's

30:05

tail had been docked or cut, as the

30:07

practice was back then for this type of

30:09

bull terrier. So he had this

30:11

stubby little tail that wagged around when he begged for

30:13

food. The men started to call him

30:15

Stubby. And one of

30:17

the soldiers at Yale, a 25-year-old

30:19

named James Robert Conroy, he found

30:22

that Stubby particularly liked him. And

30:25

pretty early on, Stubby adopted

30:28

Conroy as his

30:30

human, and the two of them

30:33

began to bond in

30:35

this training camp where the

30:38

men are literally learning how to be

30:41

soldiers, and Stubby just starts

30:43

to learn how to be a soldier dog.

30:48

Stubby and Conroy went through training camp together.

30:51

Literally. Whatever Conroy did,

30:53

Stubby did. When Conroy ate,

30:55

Stubby ate. When Conroy slept,

30:58

Stubby slept. And when Conroy

31:00

marched, Stubby marched. When

31:03

the marching band would be practicing, he

31:06

would follow along, and he was learning

31:08

the commands. So he knew when they

31:10

were going to turn, he knew when

31:12

they were going to stop, and he

31:15

would mimic that behavior.

31:19

When Conroy, during training,

31:21

taught him his

31:23

one lovely little trick that would get him

31:25

out of a lot of trouble. And

31:28

that is to sit up and

31:30

salute. He

31:33

would put his little paw up next to

31:35

his face. He would sit on a timed

31:37

leg and sit up like he was going

31:39

to beg, but he would put his little

31:41

paw up, and he would wait, apparently, until

31:43

the salute was returned so

31:45

that he would then get back down

31:47

on all fours. No. It's

31:49

a great trick. Conroy

31:51

and Stubby became inseparable. But

31:54

after a few months, basic training was over.

31:57

Conroy was being shipped out to France, and

31:59

there was no ticket with Stubby's name on

32:01

it. Remember, Stubby wasn't an

32:03

official military dog. He was

32:05

self-taught. When it came time to it, Stubby didn't

32:07

want to say goodbye. And neither

32:10

did Conroy. Conroy just had to

32:12

figure out how to sneak Stubby on board

32:14

a ship to Europe. So

32:16

he sniffed out an ally. He

32:19

enlisted the help of someone

32:21

who was a crewman

32:24

on the ship and they put

32:26

him into a coal bin, smuggled

32:29

him into the ship's

32:31

hold in the coal bin and he

32:34

stayed there until they were pretty far

32:36

out to sea so that had he

32:38

been discovered it would be too late

32:40

to send him back. Stubby

32:43

made it all the way to France

32:45

without ever being discovered. But

32:47

once they got to shore, Conroy had to figure

32:49

out a way to get Stubby off the ship. And

32:52

this is a caper I can almost envision playing

32:54

out in a three Stooges film. Conroy

32:59

wrapped Stubby up in his jacket. And

33:02

some of the soldiers bunched up around him

33:04

and they got off the ship together. Of course,

33:07

eventually Conroy's commanding officers discovered he

33:10

had snuck a dog into France.

33:12

But when they went to confront him and Stubby... You

33:15

know what does Stubby do? He

33:18

salutes? He salutes. They

33:22

just say, okay, he's your

33:24

mascot. So everybody was in on

33:26

it. Everybody sort of said, okay.

33:28

Stubby was now on active duty.

33:31

But France in the fall of 1918

33:33

was a far cry from New Haven,

33:35

Connecticut. Conroy had no idea

33:38

just how dangerous and deadly the fighting

33:40

would be. Like most of his

33:42

unit, he'd never fought in a war before. So

33:45

he had no idea what to expect. No, they had no

33:47

idea what to expect. And I don't even think that the

33:49

professional soldiers knew. Tanks,

33:54

fighter planes, deadly chemicals,

33:57

razor wire, even machine

33:59

guns to an world

34:01

war one was the first time all these

34:03

instruments of destruction were used on

34:05

the battlefield and this was

34:08

a very defensive war it wasn't

34:10

troops meeting in battle on a

34:12

battlefield it was you're dug in

34:14

these are your positions and

34:16

you're basically you know lobbing artillery

34:19

towards each other that's

34:21

where the chemical warfare is coming in and

34:23

it's really a war of attrition

34:25

in many many ways. Stebih

34:28

and Conroy found themselves in the middle

34:30

of trench warfare. And

34:32

the conditions were pretty bad you

34:35

know no sunlight lots

34:38

of mud lots of rain rats.

34:41

Conroy left behind a scrapbook from the

34:43

war that includes sketches of their living

34:45

conditions. One picture shows

34:47

him sleeping in his underground bunker. And

34:50

if you look closely you can see Stebih's head drawn

34:53

into this picture that another

34:55

soldier had had created just

34:57

to document daily life at the front

34:59

lines. Wow so he would sleep in

35:01

in the bunk with Conroy. Seemingly

35:04

according to this illustration. Despite

35:06

the fact that he was a self-taught military

35:09

dog Stebih proved to be handy on the

35:11

front lines. He caught his fair

35:13

share of rats, kept soldiers company while

35:15

they stood guard, and he even served

35:17

as an early warning system for gas

35:19

attacks. He had a really good sense

35:22

of smell so he could sense before

35:25

the soldiers could

35:27

that there would have been rounds

35:30

of chemical munitions. And

35:32

so he would start barking and once he

35:35

started barking the alarms would go off in

35:37

the trenches so that people would go and

35:39

get their gas masks. Stebih even

35:41

had his own little gas mask that Conroy

35:43

had made for him. But Conroy of course

35:46

had to be there or somebody needed to

35:48

be close by when they would put the

35:50

mask on Stebih. But he tolerated

35:52

it so he was a good little soldier. But

35:55

the dangers of trench warfare caught up to Stebih

35:57

in the spring of 1918. Weeks

36:01

after they arrived in the trenches, there was

36:03

a pause in the fighting. And

36:06

during the calm, Stubby rushed out of

36:08

the trench and into no man's land. And

36:11

then... A late shell

36:13

or grenade came in. I

36:16

don't know whether it was in reaction to the

36:18

dog or just a fluke and exploded. And

36:21

they heard him yelp and so Conroy went

36:23

up to get him and saw that

36:25

he was bleeding. And

36:28

Conroy reportedly carried the dog to

36:30

the medics. Everybody

36:32

knew Stubby. He was a valuable dog.

36:35

Conroy found the shrapnel that had torn into

36:37

Stubby's chest and leg. He did

36:39

what he could to stop the bleeding and said, Let's

36:42

put him on an ambulance and take him back to

36:44

a regular hospital because they'll know how to fix him

36:46

up a little bit better. Oh wow. When

36:49

Stubby got to the hospital, doctors did

36:51

everything they could to save his life.

36:56

And they did. Stubby made

36:58

a spectacular recovery, spending the next six

37:00

weeks recuperating at the hospital. And

37:02

even there, you know, not surprisingly

37:05

became useful by once he could

37:07

walk around again, just being a

37:09

cheerful presence, visiting the other soldiers

37:12

who were also recuperating. Once

37:15

Stubby's injuries healed, he reunited with Conroy.

37:17

And at this point in the war, the fighting had

37:19

shifted from the trenches to the fields of France. This

37:22

is where Stubby learned a new skill. Stubby

37:27

was put to work finding lost or

37:30

injured soldiers. When he sniffed

37:32

someone out, he'd bark to alert the medics.

37:34

You know, come over here, bring your stretcher,

37:36

I've got somebody. Or even

37:38

if someone was alive but might

37:41

not survive long enough to be

37:43

rescued, Stubby would stay with them

37:45

and be their final companion. But

37:48

one day, Stubby made

37:50

an unexpected find. Stubby

37:53

was on one of his little doggy prowls

37:56

and he comes across a German

37:58

soldier. Man says it's unclear what

38:01

the soldier was doing. He might have been lost.

38:03

Maybe he was deserting. Maybe

38:05

he was out marking the troops and,

38:08

you know, spying to figure out the

38:10

size and the movements. Stubby knew

38:12

that he was someplace he did not belong. Stubby

38:16

started barking at him. Remember,

38:19

Stubby was just 25 pounds, basically

38:21

the size of two cats stacked on top

38:23

of each other. But this German soldier wasn't about

38:26

to mess around and find out what Stubby

38:28

was capable of. So he

38:30

tried to hightail it away, but Stubby

38:32

caught him. Grabbed him probably

38:35

by the seat of the pants and hit

38:37

him with such force that the man fell

38:39

face forward onto the ground with a dog

38:41

standing on top of him. Nearby

38:43

troops heard Stubby barking his head off and ran

38:45

to see what all the commotion was about. When

38:48

they found him, he had an enemy soldier pinned

38:50

to the ground. Heard a

38:53

protocol of the day, if

38:55

you captured a soldier and they

38:57

were decorated with metal, those would

38:59

become yours. And this soldier apparently

39:02

had an iron cross and

39:04

that became Stubby's iron cross.

39:07

Stubby was kicking butts and taking names or

39:11

biting butts and taking metals. Stubby's

39:18

exploits made him a hero in France.

39:20

People greeted him with an abundance of

39:22

joy as he walked through their towns.

39:25

The village of Château Thierry went one

39:27

step further. The women who

39:29

were there were so delighted by this

39:32

dog and so grateful for the help

39:34

that the dog was providing to the

39:36

soldiers that they made him a little

39:38

leather uniform. And that

39:40

became Stubby's official uniform. Stubby's

39:43

trip back to America was the polar

39:45

opposite of his voyage to Europe. There

39:48

was no more stowing away in Colbins for this

39:50

little pup. Exactly, he's

39:52

got a uniform on, he's got

39:54

metals on it. The uniform

39:56

had been decorated with his name and he's got

39:58

his name on a ticket. Yeah,

40:00

exactly, exactly. He is already

40:02

becoming a hero dog. Conroy

40:08

and Stubby returned to America together,

40:10

marched in victory parades. Stubby was

40:12

racking up medals, winning people's hearts.

40:15

Even the head of the entire

40:17

U.S. military, General John Pershing, honored

40:19

Stubby for his service. And

40:21

there are people there with photographers

40:23

with flashbulb cameras going off as

40:25

he's, you know, with great dignity

40:28

trying to pin a medal on Stubby's little

40:30

uniform. Oh my gosh. But that's not

40:32

all. Stubby was invited to the White

40:34

House to meet President Calvin Coolidge. And

40:37

when Conroy went to Georgetown Law

40:39

School, guess who became the university's

40:41

new mascot for their football games?

40:44

A schnauzer named Kevin. I'm

40:47

just kidding. It was Stubby, of course. He

40:50

would run out at halftime and push the ball

40:53

around on the field. I wouldn't be surprised if

40:55

it is not totally an exaggeration to say this

40:57

was the origin of the halftime show. What?

41:02

Stubby to be the entertainment

41:04

while the team recovered.

41:07

Everybody loved Stubby. So

41:10

when he died of old age in 1926, the nation

41:12

mourned. He's

41:14

got lengthy obituaries in the Washington Post

41:17

and the New York Times because

41:19

everybody knows about Stubby. And

41:23

I think, Lizzie, it kind

41:25

of makes sense because this was very

41:28

traumatizing war. It

41:30

was traumatic for the soldiers. It

41:32

was traumatic for the families that

41:35

welcomed back men who did not

41:37

resemble themselves either physically or emotionally

41:39

or both. And

41:41

Stubby was a good story. Condolences

41:46

poured in from all over. One

41:49

editorial said, quote, Stubby was the

41:51

concentration of all we like in

41:53

human beings and lacked everything we

41:55

dislike in them. But

41:58

nobody grieved the death of Stubby more than consciously. For

42:01

him, Stubby was much more than a

42:03

story. Stubby was family.

42:05

Stubby was a fellow soldier. Anne

42:09

says that after Stubby died, Conroy made

42:11

sure the dog's exploits and heroics would

42:13

be preserved for history. Not

42:15

in Arlington National Cemetery, although there was

42:17

talk of that, but at

42:19

the Smithsonian. Conroy never

42:22

had another dog after Stubby.

42:25

That was the dog of his life. He married twice, but

42:27

he only had one dog. Oh

42:29

my gosh. Yeah, yeah. Wow. And

42:32

he lived to be 95. So

42:34

he would say Stubby got me

42:36

through the war, and I think he was eternally

42:38

grateful for that. Throughout

43:00

history, animals in war have often

43:02

served two purposes. One

43:04

is their official duties, you know, like

43:06

sniffing out explosives or catching rats.

43:09

But the second is to be a friend

43:11

or even a family member who can provide

43:14

support through some of life's most difficult times.

43:20

When you deploy with the dog and you live with

43:22

them seven days a week, and they're sleeping wherever you're

43:24

sleeping, and you're going through everything you're going through together,

43:27

it's a relationship between a dog and a

43:29

handler that is unlike anything else out there.

43:32

Like Conroy, Chris says his dog Luca got

43:34

him through the war and helped him when

43:36

he got back home. But

43:39

unlike Conroy, when Luca died in 2018, Chris

43:42

adopted another dog. It's

43:44

the same type of dog that belonged to his

43:47

fellow dog handler, who died in Iraq, a

43:49

yellow lab. He's goofy. I love him,

43:52

but he's goofy, but he means the world to me.

43:56

Thanks for watching! You've

44:20

been listening to Side Door, a podcast from the

44:22

Smithsonian with support from PRX. To

44:25

learn more about Cher ami, Stubby, or any

44:28

of the other war hero animals in our

44:30

collection, check out our newsletter. You

44:32

can subscribe at SI.edu/Side Door. We'll

44:36

be sure to include plenty of photos, including

44:38

some of Luca and Chris, as well as

44:40

a few cats in uniform. We'll

44:42

also include a link to an episode

44:45

of the Airspace Podcast that has some

44:47

new information Frank Blazic discovered about Cher

44:49

ami. For instance, the

44:51

pigeon's name might have actually been

44:54

Big Tom. At one point. For

44:56

help with this episode, we want to

44:58

thank Jennifer Jones, Frank Blazic, Scott Christensen,

45:01

the awesome and boss-em, Chris

45:03

Willingham, and Veluska Hilbert. If

45:06

you want to know more about Stubby, you can see the actual

45:08

dog at the Smithsonian's National Museum

45:11

of American History. You can also

45:13

read Anne's book, Surgeon Stubby, who

45:15

is a stray dog and his best friend helped

45:17

win World War I and stole the heart of

45:19

the nation. She also has a children's

45:21

book called Stubby the War Dog. Scott

45:24

Christensen's book is called Cats in the Navy,

45:27

and it's full of amazing pictures. He's

45:29

also got a new book called Dogs in the Navy.

45:32

Also worth checking out. Chris Willingham's

45:35

organization is called the U.S. War Dogs

45:37

Association. If you want to look it up and

45:39

learn more. Our podcast is

45:41

produced by James Morrison and me,

45:43

Lizzie Peabody. Our associate producer is

45:45

Natalie Bold. Executive

45:48

producer is Ann Canannan. Our editorial

45:50

team is Jess Sadek and Sharon

45:52

Brandt. Tammy O'Neill writes our

45:54

newsletter. Episode artwork is by

45:56

Dave Leonard. Extra support comes from

45:58

PRX. mixed by Tarik

46:00

Suda and our theme song and episode

46:03

music are by Breakmaster Cylinder. If

46:05

you have any animal stories you want to share with

46:07

us you can do that right in the Spotify app

46:09

we'd love to hear from you. And if

46:12

you have a pitch for us send us

46:14

an email at sidedoor at SI dot edu.

46:17

If you want to sponsor a show

46:19

please email sponsorship at PRX dot org.

46:22

I'm your host Lizzie Peabody. Thanks

46:24

for listening. Stuffed

46:33

pigeons, little plushies I have in my office.

46:35

I have pigeon stickers.

46:37

I have pigeon

46:39

cartoons, pigeon books that I've been kind of

46:41

building my library over the years. Oh my

46:43

gosh there's a pigeon right there. There's more

46:45

pigeons. I have you know there's like pigeons

46:47

everywhere. People love pigeons. Do

46:49

they really? I wasn't aware. They get a

46:52

bad rap.