Times of adversity brings out the true heroes in all of us. The First World War is one of the greatest all-time exemplifications of that idea in action. There are thousands of stories passed down about accounts of bravery and heroism. But one of the most attention-grabbing stories revolves around a courageous carrier pigeon named Cher Ami.
Cher Ami on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington D.C.
According to estimates, The US Army Signal Corps used roughly 600 carrier pigeons over the course of World War I. The sheer size of radio, along with the accompanying electrical wires, made them an unstable means of wartime communication. Carrier pigeons provided a unique alternative to radio communication. On average, the pigeons could fly up to 70 miles per hour.
The real legend of Cher Ami came to fruition on October 4th, 1918. American troops, led by Major Charles Whittlesey, pushed too deep into the Argonne Forrest and were cornered by the German forces. They became known as the “Lost Battalion”. Handicapped by scarce supplies and no possibility of backup, a crew of about 550 men fought tooth and nail to hold off the Germans for several days. To somehow make matters worse, American artillery dropped an airstrike on their position, unaware that it was American troops. Their position left the Lost Battalion far out of the range of radio receptors, leaving carrier pigeon messenger as their only chance to make it out alive.
Flying through the air wasn’t exactly safer than the ground. German soldiers in charge of machine guns were specifically trained to locate the birds mid-flight and take them out. This made trusting a carrier pigeon with a message extremely dangerous because the strategic message could easily be recovered by the enemy if the bird were to be shot down. Being the machine guns shot 500 rounds per minute, plenty of poor messenger birds met this fate. In the 12th hour, Major Whittlesey sent out one last pigeon, Cher Ami. The message read, “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.”
Cher Ami soared into the savage skies determined to deliver the message. The hearts of the Battalion sunk when they saw a bullet hit Cher Ami, knocking him out of the air. In an act that defies all logic, Cher Ami rose back to the skies and continued his valiant quest. Physically wounded but mentally impenetrable, Cher Ami dodged spree after spree of machine-gun fire as she escaped. When she finally arrived at her destination, she was blind in one eye and had catastrophic injuries to his right leg. Thankfully, army medics were able to save her life. Taking notice of the content of Cher Ami’s message, Americans were able to reposition their intended airstrikes to eliminate any further chance of friendly fire. The following day, American artillery reigned down on the German forces, shifting the tides in favor of the Last Battalion. 194 men made it out in one piece thanks to Cher Ami’s valiance.
Once she was healed up, Cher Ami returned home to the United States with her trainer, Captain John Carney. Cher Ami passed away in 1919, but her body was preserved and given to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, where others can learn of her heroic tale for generations to come.
