Members of the 1st Division smuggled Rags by train and ship from Brest in France to Fort Sheridan in Chicago. The dog quickly healed after excellent treatment. Whenever this unusual treatment for a mere dog was mentioned, the term "orders from headquarters" was brought into play. The two were kept together and taken back to a dressing station and then several different hospitals. Donovan was more seriously wounded and badly gassed. Rags had his right front paw, right ear and right eye damaged by shell splinters, and was also mildly gassed. On October 9, 1918, Rags and Donovan were both the victims of German shellfire and gas shells. It saved the lives of a large number of doughboys. Rags carried a number of messages and on October 2, 1918, carried one from the 1st Battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment to the 7th Field Artillery that resulted in an artillery barrage that led to an important objective, the Very-Epinonville Road, being secured. In September 1918, Rags and Donovan were involved in the final American campaign of the war. News of the exploit spread throughout the 1st Division. Rags carried back a message which resulted in an artillery barrage and reinforcements that rescued the group. In July 1918, Rags and Donovan and an infantry unit of 42 men were cut off and surrounded by Germans. Donovan trained Rags to carry written messages attached to his collar. Until wire was replaced, runners had to be used, but they were frequently wounded, killed or could not get through shell holes and barbed wire. He also had to repair field telephone wires that had been damaged by shellfire. War service ĭonovan's job in the front lines was to string communications wire between advancing infantry and supporting field artillery. Upon returning to his unit Donovan escaped punishment and was allowed to keep Rags largely because Donovan was being ordered to the front lines. That is a role that Rags was to play for almost twenty years. To avoid being Absent Without Leave, Donovan told Military Police that Rags was the missing mascot of the 1st Infantry Division and that he was part of a search party. Donovan had marched in the Bastille Day parade and was late in reporting back to his unit. Donovan named the dog Rags, having mistaken him for a pile of them when he first found him. signal corps specialist serving with the U.S. Rags was found abandoned on the streets of Paris by an American doughboy, Private James Donovan, an A.E.F. Rags was presented with a number of medals and awards. Hardenbergh there in 1920, moving with them through several transfers until in Fort Hamilton, New York, he was reunited with members of the 18th Infantry Regiment who had known him in France. Rags was adopted by the family of Major Raymond W. His adopted owner and handler, Private James Donovan, was seriously wounded and gassed, dying after returning to a military hospital at Fort Sheridan in Chicago. Rags achieved great notoriety and celebrity war dog fame when he saved many lives in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign by delivering a vital message despite being bombed, gassed and partially blinded. He learned to run messages between the rear headquarters and the front lines, and provided early warning of incoming shells. Rags remained its mascot until his death in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 1936. He was adopted into the 1st Division on July 14, 1918, in the Montmartre section of Paris, France. 1st Infantry Division's dog-mascot in World War I. 1916 – March 6, 1936) was a mixed breed terrier who became the U.S. This was a trick Donovan taught him in France. Saluted every time he saw soldiers on parade.
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