Net Mole: Sergeant Major Jiggs

The first mascot of the United States marines was an English Bulldog named King Bulwark. kings formal title was dropped at his enlistment in the Marine Corps on the 14th of October 1922. His enlistment papers, signed by Brigadier General Smedley Butler himself, give his new enlisted name as Jiggs.

Image Credit: The Library Of Congress At Washington D.C.

Sergeant Major Jiggs 1925

Jiggs's rise within the ranks was rapid, within three weeks he had achieved the rank of corporal, and by New Year's Day 1924 had become a sergeant. By July the next year he had achieved the rank of Sergeant Major.
Although he was well liked by the marines, jiggs behaviour was true to his independent nature and he was repeatedly court martialed for breaches of etiquette and deportment, although he was always soon reinstated.

Image Credit: The Library Of Congress At Washington D.C.

Miss Mae Esterley with Sgt. Jiggs, April 14 1925

Jiggs led a pampered existence in the Marines, never far from the glow of publicity, he even starred with Lon Chaney in the 1926 film Tell It To The Marines.

Sgt. Jiggs 1925, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

After a life filled with rich food, formal events and sporting fixtures, Jiggs died on the 9th of January 1927, just short of his fifth birthday. He was layed in state, at a hangar in Quantico, in a white satin-lined coffin, which was constructed from his former kennel.

Marine Mascot Sergeant Jiggs in 1923 at a sporting event.

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