Pigeons Coming to DeKalb County in 1920

From the April 22, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1920, 100 Years Ago.

"If everything goes as has been planned, the Chicago Concourse Club will send out about 5000 homing pigeons to be released from here Sunday morning.

"During the war, this type of pigeon won great fame for themselves by carrying messages while under fire.  A man will also be sent along with the birds to see that they are liberated in the right way."

--Cooter

Man Shoots Self While Hunting Pigeons in 1919

From the March 20, 2019, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back,"

1944, 75 Years Ago.

"Jack Cook of Rollo had the misfortune to suffer a painful accident of last week.  He was using a rifle to shoot pigeons and as one dropped, he dashed to get it, forgetting to put the safety release on the rifle, the shot going through his leg.

"Treatment was given at Mendota Hospital and he was returned to his home."

I Can Almost Hear the Pigeons Laughing.  --Cooter

Most Pigeons Flew Home, A Few Remained

From the September 19, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Regardless of the fact that nearly 3,000 pigeons were released here Sunday morning by the employees of the American Railway Express company, there are but few of the birds to be seen flying about the city today.

"As a general rule there are always many of the birds which do not get started on their homeward journey and later become victim of some one's rifle or shot gun.  The laws nowadays  state that such birds must not be shot  as all efforts  are being made  to train them for service in the army."

Be American, Don't Shoot the Pigeons.  --Cooter

Pigeons To Be Released in DeKalb for War Training

From the September 12, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Agent George Culver of the American Railway express company stated today that he expects a shipment of  some 70  coops of pigeons tomorrow, to be liberated some time Sunday, probably during the morning hours.

"The agent states that the birds are sent out for training purposes and the people are liable  to severe punishment if they interfere in any way with the birds.  Heretofore many of the birds were shot and converted into potpie the next day, but since the government is expending money for the training of these birds, it is best to play safe and not shoot any of the pigeons released."

--DaCoot

War Pigeons

From Wikipedia.

Homing pigeons have long played an important role in the military.  Due to their homing ability, speed and ability to fly at high altitudes they were often used a  war messengers.

Carrier pigeons of the Racing Homer breed are especially sought because of their superior abilities.

During both world wars, pigeons were used to carry messages.    When they landed, special wires in the coop would sound a bell or buzzer and a Signal Corps soldier would know a message had arrived.  He would go to the coop and remove the canister from the bird's foot and send the message by  telegraph, field phone or personal messenger to its destination.

The carrier pigeon's job was especially dangerous as enemy troops knew they were carrying an important message and they became major targets.

I have already written about Cher Ami and President Wilson.   Another famous World War I pigeon was the Mocker.

--DaCoot

WW I Hero Pigeon, President Wilson-- Part 3: Both Sides Used Pigeons in WW I

After his death, Wilson was taxidermied and presented to the Smithsonian Institution before being transferred to the custody of the U.S. Army in 2008.  Today he is in the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Carrier pigeons were used by both Allied and Central Powers armies during World War I.  They would fly back to their coops bringing important military information.

When they weren't in use. pigeons would be housed in mobile units, often converted  horse carriages or even double-decker buses.

Military carrier pigeons were also used in World War II.  In that war, 32 pigeons were awarded the United Kingdom's Dickin Medal for their heroism.

--Cooter

Another WW I Hero Pigeon, President Wilson-- Part 2

President Wilson was born in France and first assigned to the U.S. Army's newly-formed Tank Corps, delivering messages to tank battalions commanded by Col. George S. Patton in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.

Soon afterwards, the pigeon was assigned to an infantry unit operating  near Grandpre during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918.

On the morning of October 5, his unit came under fire and Wilson was dispatched with a message that the unit needed artillery support.  During his 25-mile flight to headquarters, German soldiers spotted him and  began firing.  Wilson was hit several times, losing a leg and getting a wound in the chest, but he managed to deliver the message in a record 25 minutes.

He survived his wounds and was retired and sent to the U.S. Army Signal Corps Breeding and Training Center at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he would live another eleven years.

--Cootgeon

Another WW I Hero Pigeon, President Wilson-- Part 1

From Oct. 5, 2018, ABC News "Meet the hero carrier pigeon that saved US troops during a WW I battle 100 years ago" Elizabeth McLaughlin.

There is a pigeon on a third floor Pentagon hallway outside the Army Chief of Staff's office.  It is right there with American Revolution bayonets, Civil War uniforms and replicas of Vietnam War helicopters.

And, it looks real because it has been taxidermied and it is missing a leg.

That pigeon's name is President Wilson and he is an unsung hero of World War I where he made a daring flight to save American troops 100 years ago today.

President Wilson was one of many  military carrier pigeons (see the entries on Cher Ami earlier this month)  used in the W.S. Army Signal Corps who delivered messages between commanders and the front lines during the war.  They were especially useful because the technologies of telegraph and telephones were still unreliable.

--Cooter

Cher Ami the Pigeon and WW I Hero-- Part 4: Remembered

To American school children of the 1920s and 1930s, Cher Ami was as well-known as any human World War I heroes.

Cher Ami's body was later mounted by a taxidermist and enshrined at the Smithsonian Institution.  It is currently on display with the body of pitbull Sergeant Stubby in the National Museum of American History's  "Price of Freedom" exhibit.

--CootPigeon

Cher Ami the Pigeon-- Part 3: American Hero and Awards

For this, Cher Ami became a hero of the 77th Division.  Army medics worked to save her life.  They were unable to save it so they carved a small wooden one.  When she had recovered enough to travel, the now one-legged bird was put on a boat back to the United States, with General John J. Pershing seeing her off.

AWARDS

 Cher Ami was given  the Croix de Guerre Medal by the French for delivering 12 messages at Verdun.

She died at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, on June 13, 1919, of the wounds she received.

After that, she was inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame in 1931.  She also received a gold medal from the Organized Bodies of American Racing Pigeon Fanciers.

The man responsible for training and caring for her in the U.S. Signal Corps, Enoch Clifford Swain, was given an award for his service.

--Cooter

Cher Ami the Pigeon-- Part 2: Made It To Headquarters

Cher Ami was dispatched with a note written on onion paper, in a canister on her left leg which read:  "We are along the road parallel to 276.4.  Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly upon us.  For heavens sake stop it."

As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw her rising and  opened fire on her.  After several seconds she was shot down, but was able to rise again and take flight.  She arrived back at her loft at division headquarters 25 miles to the rear in just 25 minutes.  This helped save lives in the Lost Battalion.

She had been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye and had a leg hanging only by a tendon.

--Cooter

The Lost Battalion's Cher Ami-- Part 1: A Very Famous Pigeon

Back on October 6, I mentioned this pigeon saving the men of the Lost Battalion at one point.

From Wikipedia.

Cher Ami is French for "dear friend" in the masculine. who had been donated by pigeon fanciers in Britain to the U.S. Army Signal Corps for use in France.  She is most famous for delivering a message from an encircled battalion despite receiving serious injuries during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918.

On Oct. 3, Major Whittlesey and his battalion (later known as "The Lost Battalion") were trapped and surrounded by German troops.  He sent runners out to alert Allies of his predicament, but every one of them was captured.  Then, he started calling for help via pigeons which he had along with him.

The first two pigeons were shot down and the third got through, but had the wrong coordinates of the battalion which caused the Allies to open a bombardment on them.

This is when Cher Ami flew her famous mission.

--Cooter

WW I's "Lost Battalion"-- Part 3: Saved By Cher Ami

The American's of the "Lost Battalion" suffered many hardships.    Food was scarce and water was available only by crawling, under fire to a nearby stream.  Ammunition ran low.

At times they even bombarded by Allied artillery.

Every runner sent out by Whittlesey either got lost or was captured by the Germans.  Eventually he had to rely on carrier pigeons.

In one incident on October 4, a carrier pigeon delivered inaccurate instructions, causing a bombardment on their positions by friendly fire.  The unit was saved when another carrier pigeon named Cher Ami got through with this message:

"We are along the road parallel to 276.4.  Our artillery is dropping  a barrage directly on us.  For heavens sake stop it."

Despite this, the "Lost Battalion" held its ground and other Allied units were able to break through German lines, forcing them to retreat and what was left of the "Lost Battalion" saved.

Quite the Story.  --Cooter

Pigeons at War

From the Dec. 14, 2008, People of Pigeons Blog.

Richard Topus, a World War II pigeon trainer died at age 84.

In January 1942, the call went out for pigeons. The problem was that trained pigeons were few, mostly in Brooklyn, NY, where pigeon racing was quite popular.

World War II became the last large-scale use of pigeons in war. More than 30,000 pigeons served. They were assigned to the Army Signal Corps as part of the US Pigeon Service.

Many were shot down and the Germans used falcons to intercept and kill them.

About twelve were at Camp Ritchie, Md., and several other installations had the pigeons. The army phased out pigeons in the fifties.

And You Didn't Like Pigeons? --Cooter