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The attachment which human beings feel for animals is both deep and pervasive and stretches back across tens of thousands of years. According to anthropologists, these feelings go a long way toward explaining the almost universal appeal of mascots. USMM Playingcards taps into these feelings and, if anything, amplifies them because of the close association its marks have with the nation's armed forces.  | "Up Up And Away" - US Air Force United States Air Force Falcon: Registration Number VA-484-862 January 13, 1992 Members of the Air Force Academy's Class of '59, the first to enter the Academy, chose the falcon as their mascot because they believed it embodied the characteristics taht they had come to associate with the U.S. Air Force. Characteristics such as: speed, power, grace, vigilance, regal bearing and a noble lineage. While the cadets failed to specify any particular species of falcon, it is most often linked to the white phase Arctic gyrfalcon which for many years has been the official mascot of the Air Force Academy. Interestingly, the falcon is the only performing mascot in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and is the pride of the Air Force Academy. Click Here For a Sales Sheet |  | "Strong" - US Army United States Army Mule: Registration Number VA-580-037 July 16, 1993 The Army mule dates back to 1899, when an officer assigned to the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot tapped a local mule to become the mascot of the Army football team...giving the Army a leg-up on the Navy's goat. It wasn't until 1936, however, that the Army officially adopted the mule which it affectionately named "Mr. Jackson" (after Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson). Click Here For a Sales Sheet |  | "Anchors Away" - US Navy United States Navy Goat: Registration Number VA-580-036 September 12, 1993 According to legend, in 1893, a goat named El cid helped Navy's football team hand a stinging defeat to the Army in a hard fought contest at Annapolis. So pleased were the Navy men, that the goat was officially adopted as the team's mascot. In the early 1900s, the much loved mascot was given the official name "Bill" in memory of Cmdr. C.M. Chester. Click Here For a Sales Sheet |  | "Semper Fi" - US Marine Corps. United States Marine Corps Bulldog: Registration Number V8-940 February 2, 1983 The bulldog that has become synonymous with the Corps made its first appearance during WWI when it was used in a highly popular recruiting poster. The image caught the public's imagination and was quickly adopted by the Marines as their mascot. It wasn't until the early '20s however that the Corps got its first registered bulldog "King Bulwark" who was enlisted for a "term of life" and renamed "Jiggs" with the rank of private. Over the years Jiggs received numberous promotions, finally rising to the rank of Sergeant Major. In the late '50s, the Marine Barracks in Washington DC, the oldest post in the Corps, became the new home of the feisty canine. Renamed "Chesty" to honor the legendary Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, Jr., the mascot made his first formal appearance in 1957, at the Evening Parade. In his smartly cut Dress Blues, Chesty became the darling of the press and a hit with the public. Click Here For a Sales Sheet |  | "Semper Paratus" - US Coast Guard United States Coast Guard Bear: The copyright registration for the US Coast Guard Bear is being processed. The application for the copyright was approved in July, 2004. The Library of Congress is behind on issuing copyright registrations by at least 72 months. The bear was adopted as a mascot by the United States Coast Guard sometime after the turn of the century (note: as originally conceived, the bear was a loving tribute to one of the CG's own who had commanded the USS Bear). By 1926, the bear had begun to fade in importance when a young Cadet by the name of Steven Evans returned from leave with a live bear cub. Somehow he managed to convince the then Superintendent, Captain Robert Hinckley, that the hirsute visitor should be allowed to stay. The bear was affectionately named "objee," which was for "objectionable presence." While Objee the bear has had many homes over the years, he has spent most of his time shambling about the observatory adjacent to the Academy's famed Billard Hall. A favorite with cadets, he as been allowed to shower with them, and even, on occasion, to join them in the wardroom. Cadet Objee was particularly fond of visiting cadets during study hour. Ultimately, Objee lived up to his name and, after more than six decades, was sent down to a farm in New York state...where the amiable bruin can be found to this day. Click Here For a Sales Sheet |
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