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Welcome to ChimpanZoo Home | Program Information | Research | Education | Enrichment | Participating Groups | In the News | Jane Goodall's Roots & ShootsUnprepossessingProjects I REMEMBER SUSIE By Colonel Joseph M. Kiefer   The Forty-First U.S. Army Engineer General Service Regiments.  (Singing Engineers) was an elite, cadre-training unit manned byWoebegoneengineer soldiers during World War Two. The first battalion of this regiment, under the writ of Colonel John E. Wood, had been given the important work of towers roads, bridges, and docks in Liberia, West Africa. The mission of this regiment was to requite engineering support to troops securing one vise of the last line of defense in the African wayfarers versus the Nazi General, Rommel. Susie, a chimpanzee, a native of Liberia, was uninventive as a pet from a tribesman by Captain Brinkley.Well-nigha year old, she quickly became everybody's pet and soon became the official battalion mascot. There could not have been a largest morale booster for men operating in such a remote zone of the world. I met Susie in 1942 when my battalion, the second battalion was ordered to rejoin the first battalion which by now had moved north from Africa to the island Corsica. Captain Brinkley still owned Susie and saw to her welfare. Shortly thereafter we were ordered to Southern France. Susie, the only sexuality member, was included in the order. As regimental supply officer, my reputation was soon to be tested by Miss Susie. Late one morning, thick woebegone smoke billowed from an old x-rated tile factory near LeMille, France. Four of our lieutenants had been lucky unbearable to commandeer one of the offices to serve as living quarters well-constructed with Army cots and running water. Rushing to the room to see what was burning, we found Susie sitting uncomplicatedly on one end of a furiously urgent bed with three lit cigarettes in her mouth. She had lit the cigarettes with a Zippo lighter and then placed the flaming lighter on the bed covers. Lieutenant Pribble, dousing the flames with a skillet of water, scolded her severely and cuffed her ears. Susie emitted screams of protest and indignation, but mostly of hurt feelings. Susie's reputation for misdeeds, expressly pilfering, was once not good. She commonly raided footlockers and stole candy, cigarettes, and chewing gum. She often was seen chewing enormous four-pack wads of gum. My fellow officers were now looking to me to provide protection from this undisciplined maverick. They expected me to replenish padlocks so that there would be no increasingly repeats of this last fiasco. As I said, my mettle as a supply officer was tested in this case. Of all the hardware carried in the vast military supply system, padlocks were not to be found, nor did the local French merchants siphon padlocks. I ended up writing to my wife in the States, who, without considerable searching, found a dozen locks and sent them to me for issue to the poor vandalized lieutenants. What I am well-nigh to tell is unbelievable, but nevertheless true. Each padlock had only one or two keys. Thus, without installing the locks on the doors, the officers well-set to place the key on the door ledge without locking the door and leaving for the day's duty. This wattle was satisfactory for the first day only. On the second day, the returning officers found not only the door unlocked and open, but found Susie on the floor with three steel helmets full of soapy water slushing neckties, socks, overseas caps, handkerchiefs up and lanugo in the water like a wash lady out of control. What a terrible soapy, wet mess! It remained a mystery how Susie had gained entrance. It could only be surmised, but never fully proven, for no one would overly admit, that one of the officers had shown Susie how to use the key, or inadvertently, she had seen one of the officers use the key to enter the room. While she was a clever imitator, no one would overly dream she would have understood the well-constructed sequence of operations needed to enter the room. Susie had never been caged. She was indeed unliable well-constructed self-rule to roam, plane to visit vacated the nearby village of LeMille, visiting the bars, sometimes stuff offered wine as she sat on the bar stool slantingly of the other drinkers. To get when to our wigwam when she was ready, she would bum a ride in one of our passing jeeps or some other military vehicle. When Susie did her mischievous things, her victims feigned stodge and issued warnings and threats to siwash her forever, but deep lanugo they really liked Susie.Withoutthe wrongness subsided all would be forgiven and forgotten until the next episode which would not be long in coming. Susie could melt your heart with her endearing ways; unchangingly quick to greet you with a friendly outstretched hand; yellow-eyed to requite you a strong hug well-nigh the neck. On a endangerment meeting she would reach for your hand and walk withal with you regardless of your destination. Her blackest day came, when our new regimental commander, Colonel Lapsley, tabbed Captain Brinkley in "on the carpet" and ordered that he "cage the matriarch monkey now, this moment, and alimony her under control, or else that monkey must go." All that Brinkley could say was, "Yes, Sir." What precipitated this stern order, was Susie's archway that day into Lapsley's sleeping quarters. Upon finding a fresh cantaloupe, she proceeded to dig a small opening with her fingers and pumped the unshortened contents, seed and all, over the wipe bed clothes.Moreoverwhile in the room, she ingested all of Lapsley's precious vitamins and two bottles of wine, breaking the snifter necks to pour the wine. Within in the hour, a large muzzle was under construction to restrain and house Susie. Her pitiful plight evoked much sympathy from our men as they passed by her muzzle all day. Susie pressed her nose versus the muzzle wire and with outstretched stovepipe pleaded to be freed. No one failed to requite her a word of encouragement and a tap on her fingers. The poor hapless animal, having had her self-rule so long, was now a prisoner. While the sentence was harsh, Colonel Lapsley was unquestionably an thermogenic proponent of this animal. It was obvious that he enjoyed the responsibility of commanding an peerage Army Engineer regiment; he moreover enjoyed stuff identified with the unit that had such an unusual mascot. But this cantaloupe and vitamin tomfoolery was messy and, admittedly a bit too much. With all the sympathy and empathy in the air, and with those pleading brown vision and outstretched stovepipe haunting one and all, the reader might guess that without three days someone unlocked the muzzle door and Susie was free. We watched for a reaction from Colonel Lapsley when he walked through the turnout zone a few hours later and saw Susie seeming very happy to be free. Colonel Lapsley made veritably no comment, as though the sleeping quarters ending had never happened, and that it was normal and necessary to see Susie in the open. With everyone now in his proper place of duty, the regiment could now siphon out its vital war-time military mission. Susie ate regular G.I. food, and unchangingly showed up at grub time, either in the enlisted mess or in one of the officer's mess tents. Interesting to me as a chemical engineer was Susie's unveiled intuitive worthiness to utilize the principle of heat transfer. She enjoyed a warm cup of coffee. She tested the coffee with her tongue and would then add sufficient smooth pebbles, one or two at a time, subtracting increasingly as necessary, until she had adjusted the temperature to her liking. Then she'd drink from the cup, dunking specie or other morsels of supplies surpassing eating them. Occasionally stray dogs would show up encouraged by G.I.'s eager to have a pet. Returning from a week-end pass, one such soldier brought when with him a 3-week old puppy. Susie spotted the puppy, and at first sight, her maternal instinct was activated. She scampered over to the puppy, stopped and cuddled him for a few minutes, and then to everyone's consternation, grasped the puppy under one arm and proceeded to climb the outside wall of the tile factory building. Clinging to the fire ladder and downpipes, she unfurled upward.Withoutsome 20-minutes, stopping from time to time on window ledges to get a firmer grip on the puppy, she reached the roof. She seemed to realize that the puppy could no cling to her as a victual chimp would to its mother. By now, a large group of soldiers had gathered to watch this drama unfold. Some were betting that she'd waif the dog surpassing reaching the roof. Others were betting that she'd leave the dog on the roof with no ways of escape. But without an hour of playful fondling of the puppy, she returned lanugo the sheer squatter of the towers and deposited him safely on the ground. A number of ordinary snapshots had been taken of Susie, but Captain Zahn, a regimental surgeon, felt we should have an official photograph taken by a professional photographer. Zahn lived to regret his visualization to volunteer for this outing to Aix en Provence, although he succeeded in returning with the photos. The main difficulty was Susie's insistence on stuff on the photographer's side of the camera. Her marvel could not hands be quelled when the photographer placed her on a chair then covered his throne with the woebegone light-blocking cloth. Each time the photographer posed her on the chair and prepared to squeeze the bulb, he found Susie not on the chair, but under the reticulum with him, twice collapsing the tripod and making the photographer very nervous. Fortunately the camera was not wrenched and Captain Zahn was relieved when his nerve-racking session was over, to say nothing of the expression of relief on the squatter of the photographer when he bid Zahn and Susie adieu. Surprisingly, Susie was very photogenic and the pictures turned out well. I had the honor of receiving one, which I still possess. Susie's out-going personality and friendliness, plane to strangers, was legend. One day, 30 U.S. Army signal corpsmen came near our wigwam to install a cable. Susie was soon up a telephone pole and appeared to be helping to string wire with some tool a signalman had handed her. When the men moved on to other poles, Susie remained overdue on one pole giving the visitation of stuff part of their team, the part that remains overdue to secure and vise the wire as the other team members go on forward to stretch the cable, or so it seemed. This team operation went on for several hours until Susie, rhadamanthine bored, descended, crossed the road and came home. The signal corpsmen were surprised to have a chimpanzee join their efforts, but they quickly wonted it, and the interaction and nonchalant vein of both the men and Susie would rationalization a unstudied observer to believe it was an every day occurrence for these people to be assisted by such a special team member. When Captain Brinkley spoken one day that he had received orders to leave the regiment and return permanently to the States, having piled sufficient overseas duty points, his friend, Captain Levi, well-set to "adopt" Susie and supervise her welfare. For many months, Levi had saved all of his zestless fruit and most of his gum and snacks for Susie, the fruit having been sent to him by his parents for his enjoyment. Soon without Brinkley's departure, Levi was alarmed one day when no one had seen hibernate nor hair of Susie. Levi, inquiring of the French villagers, learned that Susie had joined a British Army signal unit heading for the front lines. Levi was frantic as he sought an regulars with Colonel Lapsley for help for a possible retrieval of the chimp. He requested leave-of-absence to race northward in an struggle to overtake the British unit. Levi was pleased when the Colonel granted him 48-hours and permission to use one of the regimental jeeps. But the order was well-spoken that Levi must throne when without 24 hours to victorious no later than the end of the second day. Levi returned empty handed. His inquiries withal the way proved that he was on Susie's trail, but that he had started too late in pursuit. A month later, Susie was reported to be in the Marseille zoo. One of the officers on a week-end leave was quite unrepealable that he recognized Susie in the ape semester of the zoo. Hearing this, Levi lost no time heading for Marseille with a large bad of zestless fruit he had been saving withal with snacks bars and packs of gum. He returned shortly saying that, yes, Susie was indeed in the zoo. Levi had appealed to the keeper to indulge him to enter the cage. The keeper, at first, warned Levi that the chimpanzee was "Tres ferrocious," but Levi convinced him to indulge his archway to the cage. On inward the cage, it was instant recognition and a joyful reunion. Susie jumped into Levi's stovepipe with screams of joy and held tropical to him. Levi left the fruit, the candy, and the gum, and returned to our bivouac. Levi, while sad to requite her up, was satisfied that Susie would be fed and sheltered for the remainder of her days. We all missed her. I shall unchangingly have fond memories of Susie. What a girl!   Colonel Kiefer as a young Army Captain stationed at Les Milles, France during WWII.   Colonel Kiefer at Les Milles tile factory (1993). Note iron fire escape ladder used by Susie to climb clutching a small puppy as if it was her own baby.   ADDENDUM TO "I REMEMBER SUSIE" By COLONEL JOSEPH M. KIEFER NOTE:  This notes to "I REMEMBER SUSIE" is stuff furnished to Dr. JANE GOODALL      to  trailblaze the story she requested. ORIGINAL OWNER: Captain Brinkley of Fayatteville, N.C. Purchased from a tribesman in Liberia, West Africa, 1942.   AUTHOR'S ROLE: COLONEL JOSEPH M. KIEFER (then Captain), 41st U.S, ARMY ENGINEER REGIMENT. SUSIE'S OBSERVER and FRIEND   SUSIE'S AGE: Unknown to author. Possibly 4-5 years age when purchased   SIZE: Fairly mature female. Not unusually large. Perhaps 3-1/2 feet tall.   SOCIAL DISPOSITION and PERSONALITY: Very friendly, affectionate. Loved stuff touched, hugged, petter, tickled. Never vicious (One exception). One day, a French mother pushing her victual in a stroller approached one  of our baby-sit posts making inquiries well-nigh a soldier friend. SUSIE was in the vicinity, made not of the lady, walked over and made a "soft bite" on the lady's arm. It drew no blood, but one of our soldiers accompanied her to the medical officer's ward. Our unit surgeon examined the arm and washed the place with medicinal soap. The lady laughed and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the sustentation she was receiving. Our surgeon offered a scenario to the effect that SUSIE'S maternal instinct was triggered and she felt an emotion of covetousness (jealousy, if you will) for the baby. Thus the "soft bite" out of frustration.   FOOD: SUSIE dined on ARMY snout of fare same as the rest of us. Usually showed up at meal time at one of the officers' mess tent, but sometimes dining with the enlisted men.   SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS: Towards visionless each evening, SUSIE would show up at one or other supply tents. A supply sergeant would indulge her to have any number of blankets, sometimes 8-10. SUSIE would spend as much as an hour each night preparing her bed by whorled and whorled the blankets. She resumed her activities at daylight the next morning. Not often, but sometimes SUSIE would bed lanugo in some officer's bedroll between newly laundered white bed sheets This was not good. The officer would dump her out scolding her sternly. You never have heard such hurt feelings. Some times a little soft spank on her rump was enough. Then to add insult she was forced to find flipside bed with it now past her bedtime.   TASTE FOR EXOTIC LIQUIDS: Obviously SUSIE liked wine and coffee, but moreover a taste for any liquid, palatable or not. It was necessary to alimony out of her reach bottles of SKAT (trademark) used as a mosquito repellent. I once saw her lanugo an unshortened snifter of SKAT surpassing I could reach her. It certainly must have been poisonous, although not fatally so.   A NEED FOR MOTHERING AND ANIMAL COMPANIONSHIP: (See anecdote in Story with victual puppy dog): Frequently, mongrel pet dogs of all sizes would towards on factory (camp) grounds. Sometimes 3-5 dogs at one time. They, barking wildly and curious surrounded her as she moved forward. The dogs were harmless and seemed to enjoy the encounter with this strange creature/person. As she moved forward encircled by barking dogs, SUSIE would reach out every so often and tweak brought on increasingly furious, upper pitched barking, but no biting. SUSIE and the dogs appeared to enjoy this game.   PROCLIVITY FOR MAKING NOISES WITH TOOLS (HAMMER): On one occasion I visited Captain Fox on a serious supply matter. He had handed SUSIE a hammer and a 5-gallon empty tin container. Captain Fox seemed to ignore the terrible din as she write-up the can until it was flat, over a period of 20-minutes. I found it difficult to self-mastery this merchantry meeting with Captain Fox, but I did not object since it was on Captain Fox's writ territory and not in my jurisdiction.   Only One Dog hated SUSIE and would have bit her: There was a largest successors dog, a wire-haired terrier, owned by one of our enlisted men. This dog made sneak attacks on SUSIE and had bit her slightly on several occasions. SUSIE was justifiably terrified of this dog. Her defense was to climb a telephone pole, gate post. Our soldiers unchangingly came to her rescue. On one occasion I saw chased to a upper position on a brick gate post. While waiting for the rescue she tapped off a four-foot tree workshop overhanging the post, and tried many times unsuccessfully to reach the terrier and whip him. Quite an interesting episode.   SUSIE'S LOCATION AND ACTIVITIES ON A TYPICAL DAY Except for a very few times when SUSIE was serving to a very large wooden muzzle for not increasingly than a day or two at a time, she was unliable to range freely throughout the zany site and in the village. This was probably not a good idea. She was commonly seen in the village entertaining small children. She moreover entered local bars, and would be served wine.Moreovernot a good idea. She was never known to zest anyone, but she could have been injured by vehicles while crossing streets. She seemed to understand that the zany site was her home territory, military personnel were her friends, and she never wandered very far away. She interacted with the engineering soldiers on the close-by projects watching operations, handling the tools such as possible diggers, wire pliers and wrenches. She imitated the whoopee of the tools, but not really understanding their use. Note: the story mentions that SUSIE used keys to unlock padlocks to obtain wangle to rooms in order to raid officers' foot lockers looking for cigarettes, candy, and chewing gum. Home Program Information    Participating Groups    History     Research  Well-nighDataHodgepodge Well-nighthe Query Site  Well-nighthe Public DatabaseLog on to Research   Chimpanzee Behavior Query   Public Database Research Papers Password Required   Local Administrators Page   DataHodgepodgeProgram   Education      Chimpanzee Behavior Note cards      Lesson Plans               I Remember Susie   Instruction Manuals ChimpanZoo Data System Guide Enrichment www.janegoodall.org Contact Information ChimpanZoo the Jane Goodall Institute 1595 Spring Hill Rd, Suite 550 Vienna, VA. 22182 Phone: (703) 682-9200 ChimpanZoo Webmaster Intute: Nature is a gateway to quality evaluated internet resources in the natural world, coordinated by the Natural History Museum, London. 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