One of the most lauded animals in WWII was a homing pigeon named G.I. Joe. He was part of the US Army Pigeon Service. During WWI. commanding general John Pershing had green lit a program to provide message-carrying pigeons to deliver messages during trench warfare. The birds were helpful when wired communications or runners were not available. Fort Monmouth in New Jersey became the training facility from 1919 – 1957. During WWII, racing pigeon enthusiasts provided 40,000 birds for no compensation. A total of 54,000 pigeons were trained.
G.I. Joe was born on March 24, 1943. He went through two weeks of training and was sent to Italy where the Anglo-Americans were slogging their way up the peninsula. On October 18, 1943, a British unit recaptured the Italian city of Calvi Vecchia. Unfortunately, American bombers were scheduled to bomb the city, not knowing the city had fallen. If the raid occurred, many Brits and Italian citizens could have been killed. A message demanding the attack be cancelled was pinned to GI Joe’s leg and he raced to the American air base, going the 20 miles in 20 minutes. The attack was called off at the last minute.
On Nov. 4, 1946, G.I. Joe was awarded the British Dickin Medal. This was the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. It had been initiated by Maria Dickin in 1943. She headed the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals. She wanted the medal to award animals for acts of bravery. The award was a bronze medallion inscribed “For Gallentry” and “We Also Serve”. G.I. Joe was credited with “the most outstanding flight made by a U.S. Army homing pigeon in WWII”. He was the 29th recipient and the first American animal. During and after the war, 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, 3 horses, and one cat were given the reward.
G.I. Joe ended up in the Detroit Zoo where he died at age 18. He is on display at the US Army Heritage and Educational Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickin_Medal
https://www.army.mil/article/268163/honoring_those_who_served_pigeon_memorial
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