# Devil Dog Road, near Flagstaff AZ - origin of name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301 "2020-07-04T18:47:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/1 "2020-07-04T18:47:51Z")
A bit west of Flagstaff is a freeway offramp, Devil Dog Road. Hell of a name! What is the origin? I wrote to the Arizona Daily Sun, and to Arizona State University, and neither email was even acknowledged, certainly not answered. It being an article of faith that there isn’t anything the SDMB hive mind doesn’t know…was there a Devil Dog…or what? ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/2 "2020-07-04T19:06:03Z")
It’s a nickname of the Marines in WWI. The road is probably named for them, but it seems that the origin story is lost to time. mc ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/3 "2020-07-04T19:36:41Z")
Super cool! I never knew that about the Marines! Now it makes sense! Thank you kindly! ETA: was I right about the SDMB, or what! 😄 ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/4 "2020-07-04T19:53:17Z")
> **[Devil Dog Road](http://www.echoesofthesouthwest.com/2016/10/devil-dog-road.html)** > > If you are driving along Interstate 40 in Arizona, you will come across Exit 157 which is about 40 miles west of Flagstaff.  The sign o... A colorful character but still no name origin. I’m looking for a WWI camp or base. Navajo Army Depot, now Camp Navajo, only dates to WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/5 "2020-07-04T19:57:58Z")
That’s incredible…as in, I have some difficulty crediting it! “The Palindromic Church of God?” G’wan, pull the other one! But magnificent, if true! Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/6 "2020-07-04T20:02:19Z")
The year 1926 marked the birth of two American icons: Route 66 and Devil Dogs snack cakes. That year, the Mother Road, which runs from Chicago to Los Angeles, received its official numerical designation and the Drake Baking Co. rolled out the chocolate cream-filled treats. [Arizona hike: Devil Dog loop, Williams](https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/hiking/2017/08/23/arizona-hike-devil-dog-loop-williams/595742001/) Probably have to go incognito to view the rest. "…How do these bits of trivia distill into a story about hiking? Easy: Today’s outing begins at the Interstate 40 Devil Dog exit and follows two decommissioned sections of Historic Route 66. Although it’s more likely that the Devil Dog Loop was named for the World War I moniker for U.S. Marines instead of the kiddie lunch-box staple, the trail is a history-steeped walk in the forest…" ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/7 "2020-07-04T20:22:33Z")
Further down the rat hole of our mysterious woman. Warning, there is some woo associated ( [Corps of Phenomenal Explorers](https://phenomenalexplorers.wordpress.com/)) > **[Dr God Lived Not On Devil Dog Rd](https://phenomenalexplorers.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/dr-god-lived-not-on-devil-dog-rd-2/)** > > Travelers through Arizona on Interstate 40 are apt to notice at Exit 157 (40 miles west of Flagstaff) an exit sign that reads “Devil Dog Rd”.  If one pulls off the highway and asks a local about th… Slow day, rain, here in Hawaii. So far, no Marine base records in Arizona during WWI though there is a Marine Corps Air Station far from this area near Yuma. No records of specific Marine units from Arizona during the War though some served. “…On October 4, 1918, his 22nd birthday, Marine **Corporal John Henry Pruitt** died of wounds suffered while battling the Germans in June of that year. He was posthumously awarded two Congressional Medals of Honor, from both the Army and the Navy…” **American Legion Post 68** in Tucson is named for him. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/8 "2020-07-04T20:26:12Z")
Here’s a mysterious cold case from that area. > **[Cold Case Close-up -- File: Devil Dog Doe](https://azdailysun.com/blogs/criminal-justice-beat/cold-case-close-up----file-devil-dog-doe/article_c7c43258-15ad-11e3-8da9-0019bb2963f4.html)** > > Editor’s Note: The Daily Sun will feature a different cold case or missing person periodically throughout the year. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/9 "2020-07-04T20:32:14Z")
And my last entry since there doesn’t see to be an exact origin of the name. _Devil Dog Road_ is a rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Founded 2009 as a quartet and reborn as a trio 2016. The name comes from a _road_ sign lead singer/guitarist Hynde saw while driving the Historic _Route_ 66 near Williams, Arizona, USA. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/10 "2020-07-04T21:21:32Z")
SUPER cool than a Finnish band would take their name from the road! That’s the sort of thing that makes life worth living! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/11 "2020-07-05T00:16:43Z")
FWIW, I took that exit awhile back, when I was scouting locations for night sky photography. As I recall. there’s a whole lot of nuthin’ on that road. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/devil-dog-road-near-flagstaff-az-origin-of-name/914301/12 "2020-07-05T00:33:00Z")
It disappears almost immediately into a maze of logging roads.