# James Robert Conroy
**James Robert Conroy** (27 February 1892 – 25 April 1987) was a [United States Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-army) corporal of the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Division, in the First World War, best known as the owner and handler of [Sergeant Stubby](https://www.edgepedia.org/sergeant-stubby), the celebrated war dog of the [American Expeditionary Forces](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-expeditionary-forces).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 27 February 1892, New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut; 25 April 1987, Palm Beach, Florida, aged 95[1](https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L5NP-9LD/corporal-james-robert-conroy-1892-1987) |
| Enlistment | Connecticut National Guard, 21 May 1917; first Company E, 1st Infantry Regiment, then Headquarters, 102nd Regiment at Yale Field[2](https://cslib.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p128501coll2/id/667946/download) |
| Unit | 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces[3](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882) |
| Decoration | Purple Heart, received after being wounded in action[3](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882) |
| Claim to fame | Owner of Sergeant Stubby, the 102nd Infantry's mascot, whom he smuggled to France aboard a troop ship[4](https://aimh.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Cry-Havoc-And-Let-Slip-The-Dogs-of-War.pdf) |
| Later career | Law graduate of Georgetown University; investigator with Army Intelligence during WWI; worked for the FBI after the war[3](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882) |
| Burial | Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Columbarium, West Palm Beach, Florida[3](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882) |
## Early life and enlistment
Conroy was born in [New Britain, Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-britain-connecticut), the son of James P. Conroy and Alice C. McAvay[1](https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L5NP-9LD/corporal-james-robert-conroy-1892-1987). He was orphaned young: his mother died when he was a small child and his father died in 1899[2](https://cslib.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p128501coll2/id/667946/download). He enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard on 21 May 1917, joining Company E of the 1st Infantry Regiment before transferring to [Headquarters](https://www.edgepedia.org/headquarters), 102nd Regiment, then training at Yale Field in New Haven[2](https://cslib.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p128501coll2/id/667946/download).
## Sergeant Stubby
While the 102nd Infantry trained on the fields of Yale University in 1917, a stray, stump-tailed terrier wandered into the camp and attached himself to the 25-year-old Conroy, who became his particular friend and caretaker[2](https://cslib.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p128501coll2/id/667946/download) • [5](https://torch.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Sidedoor-S10E09-%E2%80%93-Tails-of-Bravery.pdf). The soldiers named the dog Stubby for his shortened tail[5](https://torch.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Sidedoor-S10E09-%E2%80%93-Tails-of-Bravery.pdf).
**Smuggling the dog to France.** When the regiment shipped out, Conroy hid Stubby aboard the troop ship. At disembarkation in France he concealed the dog under his overcoat and walked ashore undetected[4](https://aimh.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Cry-Havoc-And-Let-Slip-The-Dogs-of-War.pdf). When Conroy's commanding officer finally discovered the dog, Stubby saluted, a trick he had been taught in camp, and was allowed to remain as the 102nd's unofficial mascot[4](https://aimh.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Cry-Havoc-And-Let-Slip-The-Dogs-of-War.pdf).
Stubby served with the regiment in the trenches of France for 18 months, taking part in 17 battles, alerting soldiers to mustard gas attacks, locating wounded men, and capturing a German soldier he held until American troops arrived[6](https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bp-assets/contentassets/a4f85ad82f434ab99ec3f07279837d93/life-story-newsletter---january-2023.pdf). Stubby was wounded in the foreleg by grenades during the raid on Seicheprey in April 1918[4](https://aimh.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Cry-Havoc-And-Let-Slip-The-Dogs-of-War.pdf). At the end of the war Conroy smuggled Stubby home to the United States, where the dog received a hero's welcome[4](https://aimh.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Cry-Havoc-And-Let-Slip-The-Dogs-of-War.pdf).
## Later life
After the war Conroy studied law at [Georgetown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/georgetown-university), and Stubby became the mascot of the [Georgetown Hoyas](https://www.edgepedia.org/georgetown-hoyas)[3](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882) • [6](https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bp-assets/contentassets/a4f85ad82f434ab99ec3f07279837d93/life-story-newsletter---january-2023.pdf). Stubby died on 16 March 1926, reportedly in Conroy's arms[6](https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bp-assets/contentassets/a4f85ad82f434ab99ec3f07279837d93/life-story-newsletter---january-2023.pdf) • [2](https://cslib.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p128501coll2/id/667946/download). Conroy kept an extensive scrapbook about Stubby after the war but wrote little about himself, preferring to let the dog stay in the spotlight[7](https://dianeweberbooks.wordpress.com/sergeant-stubby/).
In 1956 Conroy donated Stubby and his belongings to the [Smithsonian Institution](https://www.edgepedia.org/smithsonian-institution), where the dog is displayed in the "Price of Freedom: Americans at War" exhibit at the [National Museum of American History](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-museum-of-american-history)[8](https://annbausum.com/sergeant-stubby.html). Conroy himself served as an investigator with Army Intelligence during the war, received a [Purple Heart](https://www.edgepedia.org/purple-heart) after being wounded in action, and worked for the FBI afterward[3](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882). He married Margaret Elmyra Cooper on 20 December 1975 in Palm Beach, Florida[1](https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L5NP-9LD/corporal-james-robert-conroy-1892-1987). He died there on 25 April 1987 at the age of 95 and was buried in the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Columbarium in West Palm Beach[1](https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L5NP-9LD/corporal-james-robert-conroy-1892-1987) • [3](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882).
## References
1. [Corporal James Robert Conroy (1892–1987), FamilySearch](https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L5NP-9LD/corporal-james-robert-conroy-1892-1987)
2. [Robert Cody, "The History of Cpl. James Conroy," Connecticut Guardian, February 2020](https://cslib.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p128501coll2/id/667946/download)
3. [James Robert Conroy, US War Memorials](https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=36882)
4. ["Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War," Bugle & Trumpet, Winter 2022](https://aimh.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Cry-Havoc-And-Let-Slip-The-Dogs-of-War.pdf)
5. [Sidedoor S10E09, "Tails of Bravery," Smithsonian](https://torch.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Sidedoor-S10E09-%E2%80%93-Tails-of-Bravery.pdf)
6. ["Stubby," Life Story newsletter, January 2023](https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bp-assets/contentassets/a4f85ad82f434ab99ec3f07279837d93/life-story-newsletter---january-2023.pdf)
7. [Sergeant Stubby, Diane Weber](https://dianeweberbooks.wordpress.com/sergeant-stubby/)
8. [Sergeant Stubby, Ann Bausum](https://annbausum.com/sergeant-stubby.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Military and security biographies › Soldiers, guerrillas, partisans, and irregular fighters › Regular soldiers and veterans › World War I and World War II soldiers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license