The hard-working canine mascots of the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II tried their best to be Good Boys….but sometimes a dog’s just got to be bad. As the Still Picture Branch prepares the digitized images from the U.S. Coast Guard Series “Activities, Facilities and Personalities” for upload into the catalog, we noticed that while the Coast Guard mascot dogs consistently met their primary duty of raising troop morale, there were some high spirited pups that had adventures at odds with military discipline. Some highlights from the rogue’s gallery are below!
“Bozo,” mascot aboard a Coast Guard combat cutter in the Far North, chewed the captain’s shoes. Court-martialed and confined to the brig for conduct unbecoming a ship’s mascot, “Bozo” was defiant. But when he stared through the porthole and saw the liberty party getting ready to cast off, he turned on his most repentant expression. The skipper relented, and Bozo went ashore in search of more trouble. 26-G-3411
Just as much fun as the portraits are the captions – the photographers clearly enjoyed capturing the stories of these nautical pups!
“Barney” mascot of a Coast Guard-manned craft in the Southwest Pacific, is on restriction for the duration for taking unauthorized liberty in an Australian port. He is also under $500 bond to the Australian government. Posing with his master, Lieut. (jg) John C. Crawford, of Charlottesville, Va., “Barney” looks like he might be plotting to “go over the hill” again, when the opportunity comes. 26-G-3052
Wearing a “sad sack” expression, “Rowdey” heads for his court martial at the San Diego, Calif., U.S. Coast Guard patrol Base. For being AWOL three hours while on sentry duty the Coast guard pooch was demoted from first class to second class specialist, lost extra rations, and given time in the brig. Tender hearts caused restoration of his first class rating the following day. 26-G-3042
Of course, sometimes ship’s dog adventures didn’t so much run afoul of military standards as they did with the day-to-day hazards of ship’s life.
Jo Ann is a Coast Guard – or SPAR – serving as mascot aboard a Coast Guard-manned LST moving towards the zones of combat. Ever curious of the goings-on aboard ship, Jo Ann became fowled up when she examined a hawser on the deck. So Jo Ann simply shut her eyes and dozed, waiting for one of her shipmates to free her from the trap. 26-G-2308
Any way you look at it, these hardworking mascots brought entertainment to their crews as served a valuable role in Coast Guard activities during World War II. We think they all deserve extra treats!
For more information, email StillPix@nara.gov, or visit our research room in College Park, MD.
I always wondered if all the U.S. military mascots were male, and finally there’s a female one! (Bad Boys and Girls?)
Awwwww!! That was a very fun read haha! 🙂