Meet Sergeant Blackout
Dog Most Popular Noncommissioned Officer at Base
Meet Sergeant Blackout, one of the most popular noncommissioned officers at the Sioux City air base.
The sergeant is 4-months-old and is owned by Sergeant Lewis Levenson, stationed at the air base. Sergeant Blackout is a bachelor and has had little to say regarding his antecedents. However, he was accepted for enlistment after offering ample proof of his loyalty and was granted his sergeant’s chevrons for meritorious service.
The sergeant wears his chevrons at all times and has shown no desire for promotion to the ranks of the commissioned officers. He also wears regulation identification tags, known in soldiers’ jargon as “dog tags.” These two metal discs carry his name, serial number and blood type.
The sergeant shares the quarters of air base soldiers and eats at the soldiers’ mess. He is particular about his food and refuses to eat anything which is not included in the general issue.
Source: The Tribune Journal, Sioux City, Iowa, December 11, 1942
