Her talents were not limited to fi ght- But Marines at the barracks hated Kirby, named after Navy Capt. Donald
ing with her unit; she drank beer with the dog; his meritorious promotion Kirby Ross, a Medal of Honor recipi-
the Marines, too. As one Marine on to sergeant and the press received ent from Pearl Harbor, was a big mo-
Tarawa put it, “The duck … did more did not help. While the CO was on rale boost, and sailors would visit him
to boost our morale at that critical leave, Togo slobbered on the trousers when they needed some “Kirby time.”
time than anything else, just when we of the XO — who, it seems, liked the Today, the mascot has come full
were so desperately in need of a lift.” CO even less than he liked Togo. He circle. Units in Iraq and Afghanistan
demoted Togo to private, reduced his have seen many an animal become
The Cold War rations, and placed him on restriction. an unoffi cial mascot or, more often, a
The nature of warfare changed during Upon his return, an enraged CO rein- personal pet despite regulations pro-
the Cold War, and interest in mascots stated Togo and vacated the sentence. hibiting the practice.
waned. In the mid-1980s, a somewhat Togo died several years later. Now, as through history, mascots
eccentric commander of Marine Bar- are a reminder of home and provide a
racks Japan decided the barracks The 21st century boost to servicemembers’ morale. MO
needed a mascot, and it had to be a Navy Cmdr. Lisa Franchetti had
bulldog. After raising $1,200 by ques- always wanted a mascot. So after as-
tionable means, he purchased the dog suming command of the USS Ross
WE WANT TO HEAR
Togo, giving him his own room and (DDG-71) in 2003, she decided on
FROM YOU
personal Marine handler. a parrot, a Sun Conure to be exact.
Did you encounter any memo-
rable mascots during your
time in the military? Share
your stories by clicking on
Companions at
www.moaa
.org/discussion or mailing
them to MOAA, Attn:
Editor, 201 N. Washington
St., Alexandria, VA 22314.
The bulldog (left) became a Marine
Corps mascot during World War I.
(above) Socks poses with a unit in
Baghdad, Iraq, before being brought
to the U.S. through Operation Bagh-
dad Pups. Bill the goat and the U.S.
Military Academy’s mule (top, facing
page) meet at the Army-Navy game
in 1924. Rin Tin Tin (bottom, facing
page) is one of the most well-known
military mascots.
PHOTOS: ABOVE, U.S. MARINE CORPS; RIGHT, COURTESY OPERATION BAGHDAD A P R I L 2 0 0 9 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 6 3
PUPS; FACING PAGE, BOTTOM, BETTMANN/CORBIS; TOP, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
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