Elizabeth G. Macalaster - War Pigeons: Winged Couriers in the U.S. Military, 1878-1957

In the fall of 1918, more than a million American servicemen took part in the 47-day Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I, and more than 400 pigeons served beside them. Tangles of barbed wire, machine gun nests and enemy-filled trenches carved the French countryside. Nothing lived above the ground, and the trenches filled with dead and wounded. Gas attacks occurred on the hour. Machine gun fire and bursting shells shattered the air.

The U.S. Army Signal Corps used mainly field telegraph and telephone to communicate to headquarters and other divisions, but the wires connecting them didnt last long. They were shredded to bits by artillery fire, and wheels and tracks of vehicles. Countless linesmen were killed as they stepped out of the trenches to repair lines. Additional messages were sent with human and dog couriers, but the terrain was heavily forested and cut by deep ravines, making movement treacherous. Under fire and gas attacks, these means of communication proved utterly useless. Only homing pigeons, flying high above the ruin, could reach headquarters with important messages that relayed the status of the allies positions, their needs, their plans.

Earlier that year, in January, a pigeon had hatched in a cold, damp loft not far from the trenches in the Argonne Forest. The gangly and nearly featherless squab grew quickly, and in a few weeks, he was turned over to an experienced handler, a member of the Signal Corps. Rigorous training that included flying home from miles away over rough terrain and through all kinds of weather turned the youngster into a swift soldier pigeon. Fast and assured, the handsome blue-barred cock stood out among the other young birds and became one of the Signal Corps best.

In August, the pigeon was seven months old and left for the front, where the Allies were holding against the Germans. He gained a reputation for acrobatic and fast flying skills that were tested time and time again, as the bird conveyed information from the embattled trenches 25 miles back to headquarters in Rampont.

On September 26, nine American divisions began an assault against the Germans along a 24-mile front from the Argonne Forest to the Meuse River. The goal was to capture a German rail hub at Verdun, thus breaking the rail network that supported the German Army in France and Flanders. Intense fighting caused heavy losses on both sides, but by early October, the U.S. First Army, headed by General John J. Pershing, penetrated the formidable Hindenburg Line, the main line of defense set by the Germans. After this punishing campaign, Pershings men badly needed rest, reorganization, and replacements.

On October 21, the swift, bullet-dodging pigeon was released from the trenches at 2:35 p.m. with a message for headquarters. Just then, the enemy laid down a fierce bombardment. With sinking hearts, the men watched from the trenches as shells burst all around the pigeon. Concussions tossed the bird up and hammered him down toward the ground. It didnt seem possible he would survive, let alone fly. But then, as the soldiers stared in disbelief, the pigeon, struggling to stay aloft in the aftermath of the shells, somehow regained altitude and found his course to Rampont.

The bird made the 25 miles in 25 minutes, despite the flak that surely had hit him. He arrived at his loft in terrible condition. He had been hit in the chest by shrapnel, and a leg was missing, the message capsule hanging by the ligaments of what was left of it. Still, he had gotten the message through.

The blue barred cock was among 442 pigeons at the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The feathered soldiers delivered 402 messages, over distances from 12 to 30 miles. Not a single message was lost.

Weeks of care repaired all but the birds leg. He was named John Silver, after the one-legged pirate in Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island. John Silver retired from service in 1921, and took on mascot duty with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Honolulu, Hawaii. The hero pigeon died December 6, 1935, at the age of 17 years, 11 months.

John Silver was mounted and given to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. He stands in the Early Years Gallery, looking out from among famous airplanes and other war artifacts.