B,y Ne Y Ash y.-
If there were t "W 's Who for j-
Dogs," Gertrude wou take up a lot of space. She's be n around. Gertrude, a multi - colored mutt of a dog, has been to war. She did a tour! of duty on a-
.,s . navy sub-chaser s-
that lasted almost two and one-half years.-
The sub -chaser, Gertrude-
J-
aboard as mascot, was in the inva,dinz convoys at North-
COURTNEY. Africa. Sicily, Salerno and the Anzio beachhead.-
Gertrude is a civilian now; she's putting up with Mr. and Mrs. Bert Courtney at 505 S. E.I Tenth st. She belongs, more or less, to their son, J. H., a navy signalman.-
,1. H. Was Given a Puppy. The dog's story begins about the middle of March, 1942. J. H.'s , sub-chaser was in port at Key West, Fla. One night, a taxi driver gave him a puppy, then nine inches long, which grew up' to be Gertrude.-
J. H. wanted to take Gertrude on board, but he knew the skipper' would never allow it. He took her aboard, anyway. Gertrude stayed.-
Gertrude concluded her voyage ; to North Africa, which began' after her acceptance as a mem-; -~ ber of the sub-chaser's crew, by~, bearing a, litter of eight pups off the shore.-
The puppies, carrying - on with a newly-established family tradition, became the mascots of eight other ships lying at anchor nearby.-
Gertrude slept at the foot of J. H.'s bunk. To this day she' eats no raw meat, since in herl stretch at sea she ate nothing but the same cooked rations served to the crewmen.-
The crewmen, also, are responBible for a sweet tooth she has; always wants candy and nuts.-
Kept Prowlers Away.-
At North Africa, Arabs sometimes seemed inclined to steal from the ships. Not J. H.'s ship. Gertrude kept them away.-
The sailors taught her some simple tricks, with a ball and such, but nothing complicated, for Gertrude has too much effervescence for that.-
Gertrude loves a bath. Aboard the sub-chaser, a weekly bath for Gertrude was a regular de-1 taV for the men.-
In battle, J. H., as signalman.was the only man on the deck of the sub-chaser.-
Gertrude, with a keen no.", for impending action, was scratching at. his feet when shooting -.,.-as in the offing.-
Shp. remained topside as long as she could, before fright and bewilderment forced her to duck into the sound room with a woeful glance back at J. H.-
J. H. and Gertrude came back to America in June. J. H. brought her by train as far as Hobart, Ind., where he was to pick up his bride-to-be. Gertrude was to be shipped on to Des Moines from there.-
Escaped Railroad Men. Somewhere in Indiana, Gertrude, with no friend at her side, got away from the railroad men and off the train. She hated civilians, hzving had scant contact with them in her young life, and no one could retrieve her.-
Finally, a sailor was recruited.I He represented friend to Gertrude' and she obligingly permitted her self to be placed back inside her, crate.-
"She's crazy for sailors," J. H.'s mother was saying Wednesday night.-
J. H. has been sent to Panama since then, and when he left he thought it best that Gertrude remain in the more peaceful surroundings offered by Des Moines.-
Gertrude has lost her aversion i for civilians, has become the fam-' fly pet.-
She is not forgotten, however, for since her return ten or a' dozen letters inquiring into he welfare have come from membe of her old sub-cl.-:aser crew.-
Not so long ago J. H.'s moth received from the war departure t a photograph of her son and s fellow crewmen on the sub-chas r. Gertrude stands proudly in t e cer. ter of it.
