Devil Dog Fountain

In the small village of Belleau, France, just outside the forest where Marines fought in June 1918, stands the Devil Dog Fountain. The fountain features the sculpted head of a bulldog, its mouth serving as the spout from which water flows into the basin below.
The bulldog was chosen deliberately. During the brutal fighting in the nearby woods, German soldiers reportedly began referring to the attacking Marines as “Teufel Hunden” — Devil Dogs. Whether the phrase came directly from German troops or was popularized afterward by American war correspondents, the nickname quickly became one of the most enduring symbols of the Marine Corps.
The fountain was installed after the war by the residents of Belleau as a tribute to the Marines who fought and died in the surrounding fields and forests during the Battle of Belleau Wood. For the people of the region, the bulldog became a lasting symbol of the ferocity and determination shown by the Marines who helped stop the German advance toward Paris during the Second Battle of the Marne.
Unlike large battlefield monuments, the Devil Dog Fountain is modest and easily overlooked. It sits quietly within a small stone enclosure just outside the woods where the fighting took place.
The site is normally secured behind a locked gate. Visitors who wish to see the fountain must obtain the key from the caretaker at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, located just across the road from Belleau Wood. Once inside the gate, the small fountain offers a quiet and personal reminder of the Marines who fought there.
Over the years a tradition has developed among visiting Marines. According to the local legend, any Marine who drinks from the Devil Dog Fountain will extend his life. The custom is taken seriously by many who visit the site. Tradition holds that Marines should drink directly from the fountain itself, just as generations of Marines have done before them.
Today the Devil Dog Fountain remains one of the most personal memorials connected to the battle. Just beyond it lie the wheat fields and the forest where Marines of the 5th and 6th Regiments advanced through machine gun fire and fought for nearly three weeks to seize Belleau Wood.
In the quiet of the village, the bulldog fountain stands as a simple but enduring symbol of the legend born in those woods in June 1918.