During WWI, German reports called the attacking Marines teufel-hunden meaning devil-dogs. Soon afterward, an English bulldog wearing a Marine Corps helmet was depicted on a recruiting poster. A few years after WWI, Jiggs made history as the first unofficial mascot to the Marines.
The first dog to serve as the mascot to the United States Marine Corps was an English bulldog named King Bulwark. King, sired by a well known and famous dog named Rob Roy, was born on May 22, 1922. The pup, renamed Jiggs, was enlisted into the Corps on October 14, 1922 at a formal ceremony by Brigadier General Smedley Butler.
Private Jiggs, stationed at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, was quickly promoted to Corporal. Despite having been court-martialed several times for lack of proper manners, Jiggs was given the rank of Sergeant on New Year's Day in 1924 and Sergeant Major seven months later.
Jiggs was a pampered dog who liked living in the limelight. He attended football games to support his fellow Marines, and even starred in the 1926 movie Tell It To The Marines with Lon Chaney.
Jiggs passed away on January 9, 1927 - just four months shy of his fifth birthday. His satin-lined coffin laid in state at a hangar in Quantico, flanked by two Marine guards and surrounded by flowers from his many fans. He was mourned throughout the Corps and buried with full military honors.
The USMC's tradition of owning an English bulldog carries on to this day.
