So, who doesn’t know the story of the Oozlefinch? The blue bird that flew so fast that in order to protect his eyes, he flew backwards. He was the mascot of the Coast Artillery Corp in WW1. The Coast Artillery was based in Fort Monroe Virginia. A Mrs. Tilton, while shopping in Hampton, came across the present “Oozlefinch” in a small shop and being struck with his prominent eyes, bought him and took the bird over to the Fort Monroe Officers Club and let him perch behind the bar. He, in the loving care of Keeney Chapman, bartender and steward, resided there for many years.
The bird was almost lost several times, as many a shave-tail second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery’s School tried to steal him away, he was enclosed in a glass cage for safe-keeping. It became the custom of members of the school to adjourn to the Club after the labors of the day. The Oozlefinch awoke from his sleep of several years, being arouse by the noise of the constant shaking of the dice box by members of the school. He insisted on joining the festivities and the location of his glass cage was changed from the bar to the mantel shelf of the second room from the bar.
Thru all the changes of the past few years and the advent of the Great War, the Oozlefinch has remained in deep professional thought in his home at Fort Monroe, taken care of by the ever faithful Keeney, in his forty-five years as steward. It is a good thing that the Coast Artillerymen who were fortunate enough to cross the seas and go to war remembered the existence of the Oozlefinch. The Oozlefinch never crossed the ocean to France in person. His spirit led the Coast Artillerymen who went over and it would be by all means proper to bestow upon him the required number of Silver Chevrons indicating his war service ad is to hoped that he will wear them with the same feelings of devotion to duty which causes those of us who stayed at home to wear them.
All this is from the “Liaison – The Courier of The Big Gun Corps”
Allegedly, there were two birds sitting over the bar at the officers club at Ft Monroe. At some time in the evening after a few drinks, one of these birds disappeared. Not saying but …….. he looked very much like the picture shown here.
So at the end of the war, returning to Fort Monroe, and being discharged from the service, one shavetail second lieutenant successfully made off with that Oozlefinch and he resided eventually on the mantel of our childhood home in Erie PA. Eventually my brother Walter Lee Kauffman III acquired him. Using the magic of 3-D printing, he created 3 additional copies which I and my sisters acquired.
