The pigeon that saved 200 soldiers

A friend of mine attending veterinary school sent me this. I had never heard this story. It's amazing.


The Story of Cher Ami
Cher Ami, means "dear friend" in French. Cher Ami was a homing pigeon which was donated by the pigeon fanciers of Britain for use by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France during World War I and had been trained by American pigeoneers. He saved "The Lost Battalion of the 77th Division" in the battle of the Argonne, October 1918.

On October 3, 1918, Charles Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped in a small depression on the side of a hill behind enemy lines. Their ammo was spent. They were also beginning to receive friendly fire from allied troops who did not know their location. Surrounded by the Germans, many were killed and wounded in the first day and by the second day, just over 200 men were still alive. Whittlesey dispatched messages by pigeon. The pigeon carrying the first message, "Many wounded. We cannot evacuate" was shot down. A second bird was sent with the message, "Men are suffering. Can support be sent?" That pigeon also was shot down. Only one homing pigeon was left: Cher Ami. He was dispatched with this note in the tiny transport canister on his leg:

“We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it!”

As Cher Ami flew off, the Germans saw him rising out of the brush and opened fire. Cher Ami was attempting to fly through a thick hail of bullets. He was shot down but miraculously managed to take flight again.
Soldiers who witnessed this apparent miracle said the bird was obviously struggling, but wouldn't give up.
He arrived back at his loft at division headquarters 25 miles away in just 65 minutes, delivering the message that saved the lives of the trapped men. As soon as it was clear Cher Ami was wounded, a medic was called. The man was astounded to find Cher Ami had been shot through the breast, with a reported bullet hole the size of a quarter. Another wound had blinded him in one eye, and his right leg had been nearly shot off and was hanging by a piece of tendon.

Cher Ami became the hero of the 77th Infantry Division. Army medics saved his life, but were unable to save his leg. They carved a tiny wooden prosthetic leg for him. When he recovered enough to travel, the little one-legged hero was put on a boat to the United States, with General John J. Pershing personally seeing Cher Ami off as he departed France.

Upon return to America, Cher Ami became the mascot of the Department of Service. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre Medal with a palm Oak Leaf Cluster for his heroic service in delivering 12 important messages in Verdun. After hanging on for eight months, he died at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, on June 13, 1919, almost certainly from the wounds he received in battle.

Cher Ami's body was later mounted by a taxidermist and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institute.

Lol - after such an heroic endeavour the indignity of being stuffed and mounted!

Interesting story and thanks for posting.

peace
J

reply to post by ColeYounger


cool story. Thats one bad*** little bird. Its a sad story though. Its one thing when a man signs up for service and gets shot.(not that they deserve it, but they knew the risk) but that poor little guy and his bird buddies had no idea what was going on. However, alot of men wouldnt have survived with out him. Thanks for sharing.

This is a great story and there is a great move that tells it. It’s called The Lost Battalion.

That's a lovely story,

I wish Pigeons got more appreciation, instead of being seen as rodents,

I had a lovely couple that nested near my garden, as far as I know the same pair since I was a child..

Then my cat killed one about 18 months ago, I felt so guilty for its partner I could have kicked my cat, if I was that way inclined..

They clean up all the streets, and are brave in the face of humans, I know if I were them, I'd fly somewhere more beautiful,

We'll they make our Pigeon Park beautiful IMO..

Heartwarming story.

S&F from me.

Cheers.

reply to post by Sinny



i always had a soft spot for these birds. in another thread titled, spirit animal guides, i listed the pigeon as one of the potential spirit guides for me.

-subfab

www.abovetopsecret.com...

did you find this while researching the missing pidgeons in the UK recently?
great story, pidgeons did a hell of a lot during both wars
amazing birds depite being a flying dsiease!
thank you for posting

There are still many people who keep and many that race homing pigeons. I suppose some who say these people are odd but pigeons are interesting animals. The birds lives are a far cry from what people see around a park.

It is even possible for a person to have a message carried by a pigeon, a pigeongram.

Originally posted by GezinhoKiko
did you find this while researching the missing pidgeons in the UK recently?
great story, pidgeons did a hell of a lot during both wars
amazing birds depite being a flying dsiease!
thank you for posting

edit on 27-8-2012 by GezinhoKiko because: (no reason given)

Actually, my friend emailed me the story, which he scanned from one of his books. He's going to become a veterinarian.We're both animal lovers. He told me of a recent incident in San Diego where a guy caused a traffic jam on the highway to rescue an injured seagull. Now that's a real animal lover.
I have rescued injured birds in my neighborhood over the years. Sadly, they almost always die. Once injured, the shock usually does them in. They're fragile. That's why the Cher Ami story amazed me so much!

Problem is i think we really do not deserve this kind of treatment

The way we've been treating nature itself and certain endagered animals, some of them still go out of they way to save humans