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ueiier uian wnai uiey nave.• • *Meet Rage II,STARS and STRIPES MascotRecently I interviewed a war-dog who probably will become familiar to all of you because the exploits planned for him are such as no dog ever had before.He is “Rags II/' mascot of the new army newspaper YANK which is the successor to the STARS and STRIPES, the army paper printed in Paris during the last war. Rags II is a “successor,” too—to the original Rags, who would have been mascot of the STARS and STRIPES if he hadn’t been so thoroughly devoted to one of the staff, Corporal “Tip” Bliss, his master.Rags grew to be a tradition and he is perhaps a solar myth by this time. He could understand English, French and Elisabethan in which he was usually addressed by his master who was a scholarly person.After marching over most of France and learning some of the less polite corners of Paris, Rags came back to America with his master. Neither ever completely settled down. Tip worked on newspapers and wrote pulp fiction. Rags lived out his cycle as carefree and disheveled as his master. Tip acquired Rags who was a curly black spaniel of some sort at some French port when he landed. The two never parted, until the end.Rags was never formally inducted into the army and he got very little publicity but his shaggy, waggy memory lives green in the heart of every STARS and STRIPES man.When YANK was given its send-off at a banquet in New York a few of the old STARS and STRIPES staff were present, among them “Wfilly” (the cartoonist, Walgren), buddy of Tip and Rags. A part of the ceremony was a presentation by Wally of Rags II to youthful Captain Spence, who is executive head of the new paper.Afterward when I slipped up to get a few comments from the new Rags who is even raggier than his namesake for he is part poodle, he was finishing off part of a steak right up on top of the main banquet table.He was friendly, in fact most affectionate, but not loquacious. I couldn’t get a word out of him as to his plans. But I figured he had just gone hush-hush like all army people and was afraid that enemy ears might be listening.However, from other sources, usually considered reliable as the papers say, I found out that Rags II is about to travel to Australia, Iceland, Ireland and perhaps other fronts as yet undisclosed. For YANK will follow the troops and Rags II will follow YANK. He will probably be the most traveled army dog in history.
Newspaper Details
Shiner Gazette
Shiner, Texas, US
Thu, Jul 02, 1942
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
GA, USA 16 Mar 2017
Other Publications Near Shiner, Texas
Shiner Courier
Shiner Gazette
