“We Forge the Thunderbolt”

     
Old Joe 
 (The Tank-Riding Dog)

Prepared by Msg. Randall F. High (ret)

The National Defense Act of 1920 did away with the Tank Corps that had served the nation in World War I. The soldiers of the former Tank Corps were put under the control of the Infantry Branch. Some of the tankers were sent to the newly formed unit known as the 66th Infantry (Light Tanks) located at the Franklin Cantonment area of Fort Meade, Maryland.

Around 1923, a stray dog befriended the tankers 66th Infantry (Light Tanks). He became known as Old Joe and later became their official pet by order of the post commander. Old Joe also became famous as the Army’s only tank-riding dog. Joe died in 1937 at the post hospital. The entire 66th Infantry (Light Tanks) honored Joe with a procession of tanks and trucks that escorted Joe to his final resting place near one of the tank parks.

 
                                    

Photo and article courtesy of the Fort George G. Meade Museum at Fort Meade, Maryland

The following is a transcript of the original article written in a local newspaper on 14 August 1937.

Old Joe Famed Tank – Riding Dog, Dies at Fort Meade

Animal that joined Army 14 Years Ago Buried While Entire Sixty-Sixth Infantry Stands in Formation in Driving Rain

Officers and men who man the tanks at Fort Meade yesterday mourned the passing of the famed tank-riding dog, Old Joe.

The soldiers’ pet died quietly in his sleep early in the morning at the post hospital, which he had made his head quarters during the last years of his life. He was about 15 years old, although his exact age never has been determined. 

A procession of tanks and military trucks escorted Joe’s body, placed in a flower-covered casket on the back seat of an old automobile in which he rode many miles to a temporary grave near one of the fort’s tank parks.

Tribute Paid To Joe
There, while the entire Sixty-sixth Infantry – both officers and enlisted men stood in military formation in a driving rain, Joe was buried after Capt. Francis J. Gillespie spoke briefly of his life. 

Plans now are being made to erect a monument to the old dog, known by Tankers from the Philippine Island to Panama, and who long before his death, had become a tradition of the tank service. 

Attached To Tanks
No one knows exactly when Joe first appeared at Fort Meade, but it was at least fourteen years ago. He immediately attached himself to the men who manned the infantry’s light tanks, and set about inspiring anecdotes which probably will be told on army posts as long as soldiers have pets.

Joe, who became the Sixty-sixth Infantry’s official pet by order of the commanding officer of the fort several years ago, acquired most of his fame as the army’s only tank riding dog. 

When the tanks clattered out of their parks and roared across the drill fields and hills of Fort Meade, or took to the highways on maneuvers, Old Joe occupied a perch atop one of them. 


The following article is from Soundoff! The online version of Ft. Meade’s newspaper, By Don Hirst Staff writer Posted 5/10/07


 

The marker for the Tank Corps Joe is behind the Directorate of Public Works, Building 2212, on Chisholm Avenue.

He rose from an unwanted stray to a beloved mascot who was buried with honors at Fort Meade.

History knows him as Tank Corps Joe or Old Joe, and he appeared on Fort Meade in the early 1920s. The exact date is unknown, but it was around 1922, if not earlier. He wandered on post and remained here the rest of his life.

"Tank Corps Joe was a mascot," said Barbara Taylor, an exhibits specialist at the Fort George G. Meade Museum. "His job was to make tankers happy."

Joe's major claim to fame was being the Army's only tank-riding dog. "My guess is that he rode outside," Taylor said.

He was the mascot of Fort Meade's 66th Infantry Regiment (Light Tanks), Taylor said. From the only known photo of Joe, which appeared with a short newspaper article that ran the day after his Aug. 13, 1937 death, Taylor said Joe was a large dog -- "maybe a Great Dane and Lab mix."

Whatever kind of dog Joe was, one thing was beyond dispute: he loved food as much as he loved riding around on tanks.

"He was a mooch," Taylor said. "He'd go around to various chow halls" and panhandle for a meal.

Joe also received good medical care during the 14 or so years he lived on Fort Meade. "When sick, he'd go to the post hospital," Taylor said.

All of this -- the tank rides, the Army chow and the medical care -- was only Joe's due. According to the 1937 newspaper article about Joe's death, he was the official pet of the 66th by order of Fort Meade's commander, a status Joe enjoyed for several years.

"When the tanks clattered out of their parks and roared across the drill fields and hills at Fort Meade or took to the highways on maneuvers," the news story said, "Old Joe occupied a perch atop one of them."

Just as tanks played a major role in Joe's life, those armored vehicles figured prominently in his funeral. Tanks and trucks escorted Joe's flower-bedecked casket for the final ride to a grave near one of his beloved tank parks. There, the article said, the entire regiment "stood in military formation in a driving rain" as they bid farewell to Tank Corps Joe.

But while Joe is gone, he is far from forgotten at Fort Meade. On Saturday, the Tank Corps Joe 5K Run and Pets and People Walk at the Pavilion -- the post's latest 90th Anniversary event -- will pay tribute to Old Joe.

According to Beth Havlik, chief of marketing for the Directorate of Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Saturday's event is open to the public. "It's a great opportunity ... to honor the history of Joe."

KNIGHTS OF THE ARMOR FORCE