H.P. the cat was adopted by National Guard troopers serving with the 152nd Field Artillery Battalion. Spc. Jesse Cote said the cat was starving and toothless when they found it.But the GI's were able to nurse H.P. back to health. The cat ate and slept with the soldiers and even helped them. Cote said H.P. would be the first to react to mortar fire and was their warning of incoming.
When the soldiers were returning to Maine, they raised $700 to fly H.P. to the states. No one's sure how H.P. got its name -- but Cote said it could stand for Here Puss.