{"id":6783,"date":"2016-05-25T05:39:40","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T09:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=6783"},"modified":"2016-05-25T08:24:58","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T12:24:58","slug":"military-mascots-can-be-such-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/05\/25\/military-mascots-can-be-such-animals\/","title":{"rendered":"Military mascots can be such animals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Teddy," <\/a>
“Teddy,” with the Sixth Infantry Regiment in Berlin in 1958. (Metro Group Editorial Services) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Teddy," <\/a>
“Teddy,” with the Sixth Infantry Regiment in Berlin in 1958. (Metro Group Editorial Services) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mascot <\/a>
Mascot “Senor Sabre” with First Lt. James A Mills at Yokota Air Base in 1955. (United Press Photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The U.S. Sixth Infantry (Alligator) Combat Regiment parades in Berlin in honor of its new mascot Seminole, who remained lashed to his reviewing stand. (Acme Telephoto) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Ammo," <\/a>
“Ammo,” mascot of the Seventh Division Artillery outfit, stands calmly on a stack of 105 mm Howitzer shells in April 1951. (Acme Telephoto) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Joco," <\/a>
“Joco,” a coati mundi from Nicaragua, aboard a navy patrol boat in 1944. (Acme photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sixth <\/a>
Sixth Air Force mascot “Waldo,” a jaguar from Columbia, with Corp. John W. Walker in 1944. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Vic," <\/a>
“Vic,” mascot of the port repair ship Griswald, atop his master’s duffle bag. (Acme photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Bilgewater," <\/a>
“Bilgewater,” mascot for New London (CT) Coast Guard cadets, with headgear. (Acme photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Lassie," <\/a>
“Lassie,” mascot at a Chicago police station in 1944. (Acme photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Stinky," <\/a>
“Stinky,” a trasportation corps mascott at the New York Port of Embarkation, spends most of her life on the pistol range and “loves the sound of gunfire,” reads the caption. (Acme Telephoto) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mascot <\/a>
Mascot “Freddie” gets a food-can hat and improvised life belt while on a transport carrier in 1943. (Photo credit unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\""Ripcord," <\/a>
“Ripcord,” Second Air Rescue Squadron mascot, braces he legs and prepares to land in his seventh jump with paramedics on Okinawa in 1951. (Acme Telephoto) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Occasionally, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s librarians come across some truly unusual photo files and are kind enough to share them with The Digs.<\/p>\n

This installment just happens to be the result of such a collaboration.<\/p>\n

Listed under “mascots,” a trove of photos, some by staff but many others from wire services, was stashed in the PG’s library and included people dressed up in all their faux fur and papier mache glory.<\/p>\n

But the manila envelope also contained photos of real animals paired with U.S. servicemen \u2014 soldiers and sailors \u2014 and law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

Some of these unofficial mascots represented a regiment, company, or platoon. Others were probably just pets, their owners saying goodbye, perhaps even for the last time. Yet others seem to be souvenirs \u2014 drooling, tail-wagging and bad-breathed spoils of war.<\/p>\n

In one such photo, a U.S. sailor stares at his pet coatimundi. (If you just said aloud, “A what-a-mundi?,” it’s a member of the raccoon family.)<\/p>\n

The original 1945 caption says the sailor, Robert E. Wright of Margate City, N.J., purchased “Joco” for a single dollar in Corinto, Nicaragua, and that the two slept nestled together on their Navy patrol boat. After Wright returned to the U.S., the caption says he was later redeployed, with Joco being sent off to the Philadelphia Zoo.<\/p>\n

Another animal that got a ride to the States was “Vic.” Vic, a dog from France, was photographed in 1945 riding proudly atop Pfc. Robert Ford’s duffel bag after their repair ship, the Griswald, returned to Philadelphia from Europe. Vic went on to live with Ford in Denver \u2014 from Parisian lights to Rocky Mountain heights.<\/p>\n

The mascot for a military company stationed in Berlin was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

Bear Company, which was attached to the 6th Infantry Regiment, had its very own Teddy Bear. While neither stuffy nor holdable, “Teddy” was a month-old bear cub when he was made mascot of the unit in 1958. In one photo, he’s leashed and sitting at attention as orders are announced. A post at the time said, “Nine months later, he was not a cute, cuddly cub, but as rough and tough as any first sergeant.”<\/p>\n

While the origins and procurement of Teddy are unknown, we do know that he was given a Jeep tour of Berlin’s Russian zone before his retirement to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

One of the more curious images was one of a mutt named Stinky, an unofficial mascot of the transportation corps who was photographed in 1945, surrounded by guns and bullets.<\/p>\n

The caption says Stinky “cut her teeth on spent bullets instead of bones and has spent most of her short life on the pistol range for the New York Port of Embarkation. The cute pup loves the sound of gunfire.” The obvious question is whether Stinky’s love of gunfire contributed to her “short life” in the quickest game of fetch ever recorded.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it’s the animals themselves that are packin’ the heat.<\/p>\n

In one photo, a dog named Lassie (not the TV star) is photographed wearing a badge and holster and what appears to be a real pistol. Her owner, Capt. Louis Capparelli of the Maxwell Police Station in Chicago, said Lassie seemed comfortable with the atmosphere inside the lockup, so, you know, why not?<\/p>\n

In addition to Lassie and Stinky, there are other questionable calls regarding our four-legged friends, whose names sound like a who’s-who of rejected G.I. Joe characters:<\/p>\n

\u25a0 “Ammo,” a puppy whose 1951 photo op was taken atop a pile of Howitzer shells in Korea, courtesy of the 7th Infantry.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 “Seminole,” an alligator that was tied down to a reviewing stand to watch the 6th Infantry parade by in Berlin, also in 1951.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 “Freddie,” a dog aboard an Army transport in 1943 who looks extremely unhappy after a makeshift helmet \u2014 in this case, a soup can \u2014 was duct-taped to its head.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 And, of course, “Ripcord,” a dog with the Air Force’s 2nd Air Rescue Squadron who was sent parachuting from an airplane \u2014 solo \u2014 into Okinawa in 1954.<\/p>\n

While dogs dominate, other animals pictured include “Bilgewater,” a Coast Guard cat that fell asleep while playing with a cadet’s cap in 1943 in New London, Conn., and “Waldo,” a young, wild jaguar that is photographed while being held by Cpl. John W. Walker of Caseyville, Ill., who was with the 6th Air Force in Panama in 1945.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Listed under “mascots,” a trove of photos, some by staff but many others from wire services, was stashed in the PG’s library and included people dressed up in all their faux fur and papier mache glory.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesMilitary mascots can be such animals<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":6785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[967,1336],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Digs.ArmyAnimals006b.jpg?fit=1500%2C1386&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5054,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/02\/25\/pittsburgh-mascots-known-not-well-known\/","url_meta":{"origin":6783,"position":0},"title":"Pittsburgh mascots: Known & not so well-known","date":"February 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"How well do you know your Pittsburgh mascots?","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/img031.jpg?fit=1200%2C818&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6572,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/03\/02\/the-curious-case-the-pens-waddling-and-missing-mascot\/","url_meta":{"origin":6783,"position":1},"title":"The curious case of the Penguins’ waddling (and missing) mascot","date":"March 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Help return stuffed penguin Pete to his rightful place in a trophy case.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Digs.PenguinPete002.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":347,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/08\/18\/terry-bradshaw-pittsburghs-biggest-star\/","url_meta":{"origin":6783,"position":2},"title":"Terry Bradshaw \u2014 Pittsburgh\u2019s biggest star","date":"August 18, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Terry Bradshaw: cocky, but in a manner that was endearing instead of annoying. 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