In 2018, the United States woke up to a photo of Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, drinking from a public fountain in France. It is not a drinking fountain; it is a fountain in the Manor of Count Belo.

Although some civilians might not understand it at first, the US Marine Corps did. The fountain is in the shape of a dog's head and is called the Devil's Dog Fountain. It is a pilgrimage site for Marine Corps and Marine Corps veterans.

On Veterans Day 2018, France received representatives and guests to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Dunford, then Commander of the Marine Corps, General Robert B. Neller and retired Marine Corps-born White House Chief of Staff John Kelly are on the grounds of the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery For a walk, the cemetery is just across the road from the Devil Dog Fountain.

The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery is the final resting place of the approximately 2,289 Marines who died in the Battle of Bellowwood, 250 of whom are still unknown. After the Bolshevik Revolution drove Russia out of World War I, Belowood’s German troops had just transferred 50 new troops from the Eastern Front.

With these new troops, the Germans hope to break the deadlock in the West with overwhelming force. In Bellowwood, five of the German divisions faced off with the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the US Army and the 4th Marine Brigade of the Marine Corps. It quickly became a rout-the Germans.

The Marines forced the Germans to retreat and follow them into the woods. There, the Marines and the new German veterans on the eastern front of the war fought for a whole month in artillery, gas attacks, and many machine gun lairs. This is a battle that no one believes the Marines will win until they win. It is said that those German troops are called US Marine Corps Teufel Hunden-"Devil Dogs".

Today, in Belo, the Devil's Dog Fountain is just a few steps away from the small church that the Americans rebuilt after the war. It is inscribed with the names of 1,060 people who disappeared during the battle. The spring water kept flowing out of fresh water, and the Marines who visited the area were drinking water. They believed that those who drank the spring water would gain strength and protection in the next battle. This is also done to commemorate the Marines who fought there and those who have never returned home.

The day before Dunford, Naylor and Kelly visited the site was November 10, the Marines’ birthday. For the Marine Corps, this is a holiday celebrated as much as Veterans Day. None of these past and present Marines will miss the opportunity to have a drink in one of the most respected locations in the history of the Marines.

-You can reach Blake Stilwell at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or Facebook.

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