Animated Film 'Sgt. Stubby' Pays Homage To New Haven's Most Famous Dog

By Susan Dunne
via the Hartford (CT) Daily Courant newspaper web site

In the summer of 1917, a few months after the United States entered World War I, the men of Connecticut’s 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th division, were training on Yale Field in New Haven. During the drills and exercises, a dock-tailed puppy wandered onto the field and took a liking to one soldier in particular, Robert Conroy of New Britain.

"Sgt. Stubby" marches into theaters April 13. Click on the image above to watch the trailer. The film is endorsed by the United States World War One Centennial Commission.Conroy named his newfound friend Stubby, after the pup’s stubby tail. Conroy became so attached to Stubby that when the 102nd shipped out to Europe a few weeks later, he smuggled the pup onto the troop ship, concealing him in a long field coat and hiding him in the coal hold. Thus, a legend was born.

On April 13, a movie opens nationwide about Conroy and his pet. “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero,” an animated adventure, tells the story of the plucky mixed-breed who became the most decorated dog in American military history. Logan Lerman voices Conroy and Helena Bonham-Carter narrates the story in the voice of Conroy’s sister, Margaret O’Brien.

On April 8, from 3 to 6 p.m., a street fair will be held in Stubby’s honor on Temple Street between Crown and George streets in New Haven. The fair will feature a World War I-era ambulance, a 1916 Model T Ford, a 1914 French Renault tank, historical re-enactors, National Guard working dogs doing demonstrations and modern military equipment.

The Connecticut State Library worked with the filmmakers for about a year to do research on Stubby’s life. “We showed them photos and documentation to help them with the animation,” says Christine Pittsley, the project director of all World War I commemorations for the library who is organizing the street fair.

The plot is fictionalized but is based on real incidents in Stubby’s military career. The most prominent embellishment is Stubby’s rank; the real Stubby was never made a sergeant. The three lead characters — Stubby, Conroy and O’Brien — are real. The first 20 minutes of the movie takes place in New Haven and the rest on the ship and the battlefields and camps. There’s also a flash of a front page of The Hartford Courant.

Read the entire article on the Hartford Daily Courant web site here:

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