The Bird That Saved Two Hundred Lives - "Cher Ami"!
Posted: Thursday, July 21, 2011
by Christofer French
Rain Dancer Associates, LLC
Though modern people either see the carrier pigeon as an oddity or something they have never even heard of; historians and aficionados are well aware that humans and carrier pigeons go back through the centuries.
The Egyptians and the Persians first used carrier pigeons 3,000 years ago. They were used to proclaim the winner of the Ancient Olympics. Messenger pigeons were used by Ghengis Khan. In Damietta, by the mouth of the Nile, the Spanish traveler, Pedro Tafur saw carrier pigeons for the first time, in 1436, though he imagined that the birds made round trips, out and back. (In fact the process works differently). The Republic of Genoa equipped their system of watch towers in the Mediterranean Sea with pigeon posts.
In 1860, Paul Reuter, who later founded Reuters press agency, used a fleet of over 45 pigeons to deliver news and stock prices between Brussels and Aachen, the terminals of early telegraph lines. The outcome of the Battle of Waterloo, one of the most anxiously awaited bits of news in the last two hundred years, was also first delivered by a pigeon to England. Possibly the first regular air mail service in the world was Mr. Howie’s Pigeon-Post service from the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Newton to Great Barrier Island starting in 1896. Certainly the world’s first 'airmail' stamps were issued for the Great Barrier Pigeon-Gram Service from 1898 to 1908.
“Faster than an ISP…”
In September 2009, a South African IT company, based in Durban, pitted an 11-month-old bird armed with a data packed 4GB memory stick against the ADSL service from the country's biggest internet service provider, Telkom. The pigeon named “Winston” took an hour and eight minutes to carry the data 80 km (50 miles). Including downloading, it took two hours, six minutes, and 57 seconds for the data to arrive, the same amount of time it took to transfer 4% of the data over the ADSL.
The “Liberty Division”, Named after the French-Delivered Statue of Liberty, Saved by Cher Ami
“Dear Friend” - the simple English translation of the French name for the carrier pigeon “Cher Ami” - served several months on the front lines during the Fall of 1918. He had already flown 12 important missions to deliver messages. In his life, the most important message was the message he carried on October 4, 1918.
Mr. Charles Whittlesey was a lawyer in New York, but when the United States called for soldiers, he joined the Army and went to Europe to help. He was made the commander of a battalion of soldiers in the 77th Infantry Division, known as "The Liberty Division" because most of the men came from New York and wore a bright blue patch on their shoulders that had on it the STATUE OF LIBERTY. The irony that the people of France delivered that Statue of Liberty to the American people, would not be lost on these men, as their Fate unfolded before them.
“Friendly Fire”
This crew of Street Kids and the Lawyer are worthy of notice on their own. They were stubborn fighters -- Irish, Jews and Italians who did not fight with the “dignity” and “formality” of the French and Germans. The stubbornness and wild abandon with which they fought, especially when outnumbered and surrounded, truly astounded the German enemy. Needless to say, when the battle took a turn against the Americans, the Germans would feel a sense of relief. Ironically, with all of the torture, blood and resolve being displayed on the field that day, it was going to be up to a small bird to make the difference.
On October 3, 1918 Major Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped in a small depression on the side of the hill. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, many were killed and wounded in the first day. They were literally pinned down and suffered mercilessly. By the second day only a little more than 200 men were still alive or unwounded.
During the afternoon the American Artillery tried to send some protection by firing hundreds of big artillery rounds into the ravine where the Germans surrounded Major Whittlesey and his men. Unfortunately, the American commanders didn't know exactly where the American soldiers were, and started dropping the big shells right on top of them. It was a horrible situation that might have resulted in Major Whittlesey and all his men getting killed--by their own army. This is called, ironically, “friendly fire”.
…Blinded in One Eye, a Hole in his breast bone, from the almost Severed Leg, Hung the Canister with the Message…
Major Whittlesey sent out several pigeons to tell his commanders where he was, and how bad the trap was. The next afternoon he had only one pigeon left, Cher Ami. Major Whittlesey called for his last pigeon, Cher Ami. He wrote a quick and simple note. The note that was put in the canister on Cher Ami's left leg simply said:
“We are along the road parallel to 276.4,
“Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us.
“Four Heaven’s sake, stop it.”
On this last mission, Cher Ami was badly wounded. The Germans, of course did their best to shoot down the bird, as the troops were completely surrounded, and the bird was being sought by steely, focused eyes. After suffering wounds, and disappearing in the bush, he became airborne again. When he finally reached his coop, he could fly no longer, and the soldier that answered the sound of the bell, found the little bird lying on his back, covered in blood. He had been blinded in one eye, and a bullet had hit his breastbone, making a hole the size of a quarter. From that awful hole, hanging by just a few tendons, was the almost severed leg of the brave little bird. Attached to that leg was a silver canister, with the all-important message. The blessed bird just did not quit.
The One Legged Hero Becomes Famous
Though they saved his life, the leg could not be saved by the dedicated medics. Making and carving a small wooden leg, the men of the Division cared night and day for the little bird that had saved 200 of their friends. By now the fame and the details of the battle and his wounds were making Cher Ami a true international hero. When he was well enough to travel, the little one-legged pigeon was put on a boat to the United States. As if all the attendant pomp and circumstance were not great enough, the commander of all of the United States Army, General John J. Pershing, was smart enough to see the attention and joy the little bird was bringing to all. He personally saw Cher Ami off as the bird departed France.
Back in the United States the story of Cher Ami was told again and again. The little bird was in the newspapers, magazines, and it seemed that everyone knew his name. He became one of the most famous heroes of World War I.
A Published Poem and the French Medal – The “Croix de Guerre”
Years after the war a man named H. W. Farrington put together a book of poems and short stories about the men and heroes of World War I. This book contained a special poem dedicated to Cher Ami. It is colorful, full of affection and honor.
As the French kept on hearing and learning of Cher Ami's bravery and determination, they gave him one of their own country's great honors. Cher Ami, the brave carrier pigeon was presented a medal called the French Croix de Guerre with a palm leaf.
The Fascinating Mirror Test
The study of the intelligence and trainability of pigeons is a fascinating topic. They have been formally studied for decades. The communion and communication that animals and humans share is an entire world of Special Study. The real complexity and depth of animal facility and capability is still a New Frontier, as it were. This specific story warms the heart and stimulates the mind concerning the “explorability” and science concerning these topics.
Not only are they uniquely bright, but also, additionally pigeons may be among the very few animals to pass the mirror test — which tests whether an animal recognizes its reflection as an image of itself — along with common chimpanzees, baboons, orangutans, African grey parrots, dolphins, crows, magpies, elephants and yes, humans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homing_pigeon
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Hi Chris
This was great--I learned a ton of history and about birds that many seem to think of as pests.
Thanks,
SteveSteve:
Appreciate your stopping to make a comment. It's a marvelous story.
Thank you,
Chris
This whole article warms my heart, Christofer. I can't even get my head around how carrier pigeons can do what they do, it's perfectly miraculous. I love that the pigeon beat technology. And I suddenly thought - imagine what an incredibly beautiful experience it would be to receive mail in this way. Wow. Thanks for a great article.Dearest Jennifer:
Even your comments can't hold back your wonderful, outsized, passionate heart! I feel honored to have you peruse, observe and comment.
Thanks, Chris
Another great article.Thanks for this comment. I love this story.
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