Pigeons served in both wars and saved lives.
Today as we celebrate D day and remember those who served, please also take a moment to remember the animals that also served. Pigeons served in both wars and saved lives. Cher Ami, who served in the 77th Infantry Division, saved the lives of 194 troops in the “Lost Battalion” and delivered his message despite being shot and heavily injured. After the Germans saw him exiting the bush, they shot him in his crop, blinded him in one eye and his leg was hanging by a tendon. He went down but managed to regain flight, safely delivering his message and saving the troops. Commando was a pigeon used in service with the British armed forces during the Second World War to carry crucial intelligence. The pigeon carried out more than ninety missions during the war, and received the Dickin Medal (the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross) for three particularly notable missions in 1945. Pigeons were used where radio communications had become highly dangerous. A small canister was attached to th