Albemarle Tradewinds July 2020 Web Final

HRNeptune.com
Rags, the dog who was a World War I hero
On or around June 23rd 1916, a mixed-breed terrier
is born. The little dog would go on to become an
American war hero—and the U.S. 1st Infantry Division’s
mascot during World War I.
“Rags” might never have been found but for Private
Jimmy Donovan. The young soldier had been asked to
march in Paris’s 1918 Bastille Day parade. At the time,
Rags was just a nameless and homeless little dog,
roaming the streets of Paris.
by: Tara Ross
Donovan was wounded, too. An order was given to treat
the much-loved Rags just like a soldier, and man and
dog were evacuated, together. Rags went everywhere
that Donovan went—until it came time to board a ship
headed home.
The commanding officer of that vessel did not want a
dog on his ship! He ordered Rags left behind. Fortunately,
another officer saw what was happening. He
brought Rags aboard, hidden in his luggage.
Several stories are told about how Donovan and Rags
found each other.
Perhaps Donovan was stumbling out of a Montemartre
café after a post-parade celebration. He literally
stumbled upon the dog, thinking it was a pile of rags. He
was late for his curfew and used the dog as an excuse.
No, of course he wasn’t going AWOL or breaking the
rules! He was simply looking for the dog, the division’s
mascot.
Another version of the story has Rags finding Donovan
and following him back to base. Either way, dog and
man found each other. And they developed a bond.
Early on, Donovan concluded that battlefields were not
appropriate for a little homeless mutt. He tried to continue
on without Rags, leaving him in a safer location, but
Rags would have none of it. He followed Donovan and
basically showed up on his doorstep.
“His choice seems to have been to be with Donovan
wherever he was,” one of Rags’s biographers concludes,
“regardless of the dangers or even of what
Donovan would have preferred . . . .”
Rags went on to serve in multiple conflicts. Donovan
taught him to run messages through gunfire—and he
even taught Rags to salute! Rags figured out how to
locate broken communication lines, and he learned
to alert soldiers to incoming shells. He led medics to
wounded soldiers.
A story is told that Rags once ended up in a surveillance
balloon with reconnaissance soldiers. A German
fighter plane arrived on the scene, forcing the soldiers
to bail out. Reportedly, the German pilot saw that one of
the parachuting men was clutching a barking dog. The
German grinned, shook his head, and flew away without
doing any further harm to the Americans.
Many members of the 1st Division worked together in
those days, ensuring Rags’s safe (and secret) transport
across the Atlantic. Against all odds, Rags and Donovan
found themselves together again at a hospital in Illinois.
Unfortunately, Donovan never recovered from his injuries.
He passed away, leaving Rags behind.
Rags didn’t eat for a week. But the story doesn’t end
there.
Major Raymond W. Hardenbergh and his family would
adopt the war-wounded terrier. The story of Rags got
out. He was given awards, and he marched in parades.
A book was written about him. People left flags on his
grave when he died.
“Throughout his life,” one of his biographers concludes,
“Rags had proved of what durable stuff one little dog is
made.”
Tara Ross is a mother, wife, writer, and retired lawyer. She is
the author of The Indispensable Electoral College: How the
Founders’ Plan Saves Our Country from Mob Rule,Enlightened
Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College, co-author of
Under God: George Washington and the Question of Church
and State (with Joseph C. Smith, Jr.), & We Elect A President:
The Story of our Electoral College. She is a constitutionalist,
but with a definite libertarian streak! Stay tuned here for updates
on pretty much anything to do with the Electoral College,
George Washington, & our wonderfully rich American heritage.
Rags is best known for his final mission: He successfully
delivered one last message, even as explosions tore
up the earth around him. His gas mask was ripped off.
He was wounded by shrapnel and blinded in one eye.
Rags with Sergeant George E. Hickman. They are at
Fort Hamilton in the 1920s. Hickman was possibly with
Donovan when Donovan first found Rags.
To order Tara’s books, go to this link:
http://www.taraross.com/books/
28 Albemarle Tradewinds July 2020 albemarletradewinds.com