Objee, the mascot of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, has been inducted into the National Service Animals Memorial (NSAM) Purple Poppy Hall of Fame.
The National Service Animals Memorial, a nonprofit organization, will hold its 2nd Annual Purple Poppy Awards on Sept. 28 to honor both the service and sacrifice of service animals and their handlers since the founding of our country and the human-animal bond.
This event also celebrates the passage of a bill authorizing the organization to build the National Service Animals Memorial in Washington, D.C. Millions of animals have served and continue to serve humankind to provide for our safety, security, and independence, from working dogs and assistance animals to war horses and dolphins, and the Memorial will honor them all.
In 1926, the Academy selected the Black Bear as its mascot and named it Objee, short for objectionable presence. The bear was chosen to represent the Coast Guard and its officers who protect and defend the maritime environment. Thirty-one bear cubs fulfilled mascot duties during the 57 years the Academy kept a live mascot on campus. The last live mascot, a 250-pound bear known as Objee Thirty-One, was retired to a farm in upstate New York in 1984.
Today, Objee is remembered on Bear Plaza, where a bronze statue of the bear watches over the Academy campus, as the sports mascot who whips up the crowds during major events, and through the Spirit of the Bear Award, which is given to members of the Academy Community who dedicate time, effort, thought, and care to the development of the Corps of Cadets.
“Objee the Bear represents the tenacious spirit of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and has brought smiles to the faces of Academy community members for nearly 100 years,” said Rear Admiral Michael Johnston, Academy Superintendent, “and we thank the National Service Animals Memorial for this meaningful recognition.”