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The Marine Corps just retired its 14th Chesty mascot - here's why the Corps loves English bulldogs
The Marine Corps just retired its 14th Chesty mascot - here's why the Corps loves English bulldogs
Daniel BrownOct 11, 2018, 01:59 IST
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Tyler Blattler, mascot handler, Marine Barracks Washington, escorts Cpl. Chesty XIV, official Marine Corps mascot, during an evening parade in Colonel Truman W. Crawford Hall at Marine Barracks Washington, Washington, D.C., August 11, 2017.US Marine Corps
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The US Marine Corps' adorable mascot, the English bulldog named Chesty XIV, officially retired in late August after five years of service.
He was replaced by Chesty XV, who made his first official appearance at a Marine Barracks parade on Aug. 31.
It's rather well-known that the Corps loves English bulldogs, but what's less well-known is why.
It all traces back to the famous World War I Battle of Belleau Wood. The Marines took heavy casualties during the nearly month-long, grueling fight on the Western Front.
The Battle of Belleau Wood began on June 6, 1918, about a dozen miles northeast of Paris. US General John J. Pershing ordered a counteroffensive to drive the Germans out of the area, with US Marines leading the first attack against four German divisions. By the end of the day, they had taken 1,000 casualties.
For three weeks, the Marines launched several more assaults against the German lines, which were continually reinforced. On June 26, the Marines had beaten back the Germans from the northern part of Belleau Wood. But they had taken nearly 10,000 casualties as well.
Because of the Marines' fierce fighting, the Germans were said to have dubbed them, "devil dogs.” But this was later debunked by Marine Corps historian Bob Aquilana.
“The term very likely was first used by Marines themselves and appeared in print before the Battle for Belleau Wood,” Aquilina told Stars and Stripes in 2011. “It gained notoriety in the decades following World War I and has since become a part of Marine Corps tradition.”
Nevertheless, the nickname continued to be printed on recruiting posters after the war. One thing was added alongside it: a growling English bulldog. And this is what led to the first Marine mascot, Sgt. Maj. Jiggs.
Before Jiggs passed away in January 1927, the Corps continued the new English bulldog mascot tradition, ushering in the successor, Jiggs II.
Over the next three decades, the Corps' mascot would be named Smedley, after the famed Marine general. But in the late 1950s, the mascot was renamed Chesty after the legendary Marine, Lt. Gen. Lewis “Chesty” Puller.
Puller himself was also highly decorated, like Butler, earning five Navy crosses. But despite two attempts to upgrade one of his awards, he never received the Medal of Honor.
