Joel - I was watching this video on pigeons used during the war. My kids are doing a History Day project on the pigeons' role in the war for communications. Would you have any information for them? It would be fabulous if your veteran pigeoneer father was still alive for an interview. my email is jnewby@cbcsd.org
I had a homing pigeon that I taught my son to hand raise many yrs ago his name was Pepper. He lived outside on top of a cabinet on the carport. Mom hated the pigeon because it pooped down the side of the cabinet. Mom had me bring the pigeon back to Fla during one of my many trips. He resided on my front porch light. About 2 weeks later he was gone and low and behold he found his way right back to the cabinet on Mom's carport. The next time she tried to get rid of him, she put him on a plane and flew him back to Fl thinking it would mess with his homing abilities. It did not work. Wasted 40 bucks. He was back on the cabinet in 3 weeks this time. She gave up finally. I loved that little pigeon. He flew 711 miles from Fla to Tennessee each time.
@@patrickmcglonejr8163 He was a pretty good watch bird also. Every time someone came to the front porch he cooed loudly. Other than that you wouldn't even know he was around.
I love that you paid tribute to the role these pigeons played in WW2. We have a display about how homing pigeons were used in the war at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa ID. Most visitors are surprised to learn that they were used in warfare and that they received medals and commendations for their service. Great video! Thanks, History Guy!
My grandmother was born in raised in Belgium and lived in Bastogne during the second world war. The family owned a cafe (which is still there today) and her father, my great-grandfather raised homing pigeons for racing purposes. It was a rather profitable hobby for him as he had bred some of the fastest in Europe. When the Nazis came through the door in May of 1940, one of the first things they did was march out to the cages of his prized birds and strangled every single one of them. In a bit of poetic justice, his son would go one to become a secret courier for the Underground. So in a way, the spirit of those magnificent birds carried on through him.
Thanks for giving us another reason to despise the not sees. Of course they saw the potential for communication in the pigeons, so they were compelled to destroy them. What a satisfying revenge story ultimately.
@@spiritmatter1553 my dad was in the signal pigeon corps in England, he told me Hitler owned pigeons as well,so the Germans knew how valuable in war they were.
I was pleased to see you noted the Swiss having a pigeon service until 1996: one of my teachers did his military service with a pigeon unit in the 1980s!
When we lost our daughter at 19, our friend wanted white doves released. A neighbour said not doves, use my homing pigeons. Doves would land in the trees and poop on us. The pigeons went up, circled, and flew north. It was beautiful.
Have to say its amazing the things pigeons can do in there determination to get home..... I raced pigeons for 20 years in Ireland.... Every year we had races from as far as France and Britain to Ireland..... 1 race I had 1 of my best pigeons not come home from a race on the day which was very odd because it was usually in my 1st few home each week.... 2 days later I got the pigeon back with half of both of its wings gone , a chunk of its tail and it had a rip in its crop (stomach).... I got my father who was a champion racer to help me save the pigeon by stitching up its crop and it was back racing again when its wounds healed.... it got me a top place in its 1st race back then... I retired it for breeding then which produced some great winning pigeons for me.... Its parents breed loads of winners for my dad.... They amazed me when I was younger in why I took up racing like my dad.... Amazing how far they can travel....👍😉
Spent a short time in Oklahoma City OK last year. They have a pigeon museum. We just happen to drive by and decided to go. Displays about war pigeons and racing. Most oddly fascinating place I’ve ever seen. Would def recommend it. And it’s free. And there’s love pigeons of all different breeds.
I live in Queens New York City and my Grandfather had over 5,000 pigeons divided as Homers, Tiplets, and show birds. Many a weekend morning my Grandfather would exercise his birds sending them aloft. Other nearby pigeon mongers would do the same until the two or three flocks would hit into each others. When the birds would return to the coop ,we would check what birds returned and if we had any new comers. My grandfather would meet the other mongers at a pet shop selling pigeon feed and exchange the birds My Grandmother had many ways of cooking pigeons. The young ones would be use as meat in the tomato sauce for the summer pasta meal. The middle age ones into her pigeon pot pie, and the very old ones into pigeon soup. If ever a pigeon lost a race, he or she would be dinner soon after. How do you know which pigeon won a race? A temporary removable band would be issued when you entered a bird into a race and delivered them to the pigeon club sponsoring the race . After the birds were transported to a great distant, they would release the birds. You would be waiting at your coop for your bird to return. After coaching it down you removed the band and put it into a time stamping clock and you went back to the club to meet with the other mongers and compared the times.
Anthony Cavaliere our neighborhood in The Bronx had many coop owners with some having huge coops on roof and garage tops. I remember seeing them in the air almost all the time. I live in upstate NY now and we do have one person one road over that has pigeons. It’s a small flock, but he sends them up every day. I’ve heard some strange stories of guys trying to get their bird down off an antenna to get the pill into the clock. Some didn’t have happy endings. I always wanted to try my hand at, but never did. I thought it was a cool sport.
@@TheNortheastAl unfortunately the NYC Dept of Health crack down on many pigeon mongers as neighborhood became gentrified. The new comers would file false claims. My Grandfather's pigeons were very healthy and we would give them bath regularly. Giving a pigeon a bath is very easy. Place a pan on the floor of the coop with clean water and a disinfectant and the pigeons would line up and one or two would jump into the pan and take a bath. As the stepped out another would entry. Never saw humans behave with such manner at a subway or bus stop.
Anthony Cavaliere about 10 or so years back in NYC they started letting people have small coop again. I don’t know if they were racing them or not, but I think the city limited the amount of birds you could have. I think there was a documentary or something with Mike Tyson getting people interested in it. He is supposedly a big pigeon fancier.
This brought back memories of my visiting my uncle Sam Gordon in Winnipeg and his backyard pigeon coops. He had been involved in the Canadian Army's WWII pigeon program.
When I was a kid, my grandma used to tell me stories about how when she was a little girl, she helped her dad with his homing pigeons and when they came back to the roost after a race they would circle around but not land. She had to climb on the top of the roof and wave her arms and coo and coax the pigeons in, so that their time could be recorded. This would have been around the early 1900s. Pigeon racing was quite popular back then (they had no TH-cam after all ...).
me and my grandfather, great grandfather and great great grandfather all have raced pigeons.. its like a family tradition and theyre so damn smart, we've sent ours to barcelona over 1000km and over 3 days they'll fly home and only stop to sleep and drink
I wonder if a modern tiny digital camera (HD? 4K?) could be attached to a pigeon on a long flight. Wouldn't it be interesting to watch the playback of the trip from the viewpoint of the pigeon. The camera might be motion activated to not record hours of nighttime in a tree...or just where will the pigeon sleep? It could be set to 1 frame per second, maybe, to reduce video memory usage.
We've put trackers on them yeah, they stop in Spain, France, then over the shortest part of the channel, it still amazes me how they manage to pick the shortest part, sure there's videos on TH-cam about it too, James May from top gear tried to race a pigeon and lost miserably lmao
And we had one of our birds get caught in Beijing.. Only the pigeon knows how it got there but I got an email asking if it was mine.. He'd been gone over 2 years before anyone reported him to us
Paratrooper Pigeons! I knew about the “Lost Battalion” using pigeons in WWI, but I had no idea they were still used so extensively in WWII! Thanks for the story!
We bought a home in upstate NY a few years ago, and from day one, a white pigeon whom we called “Walter” landed on our deck, and hung around....my wife, being the good soul, wondered if Walter was looking for the last family? She fed him by hand, he stayed with us and all the kids got to pet Walter and feed him. Sadly, we found Walter dead one day, he’s buried in our back yard next to our faithful dog champ....he gave our family a wonderful experience and we often talk of him. Today’s video reminded me of Walter . Thank you Sir.
My dad was a 'pigeoneer' in the British Army in WW2, He went ashore with the US Army in North Africa during 'Operation Torch' in November 1942. Also landed in Sicily and Anzio, Italy.
A pigeon flew into My front yard so I immediately put a milk crate over it and I put a brick on top of the crate until I found the nearest pigeon farm...found it and they came out to get the pigeon...so I asked if I could put a note in the band on the pigeon...I did and the pigeon did its job and the person did get my message...how exciting!
Another great episode. Of my 18 years as a military dependent, six of them were spent at Ft. Monmouth, NJ, home of the US Army Signal Corps. One of the features of the post library were the pigeons, mounted around the room, in glass cases, that bore a description of the birds service, and any medals received. These were a personal favorite and I’ve often wondered of their fate following Ft Monmouth’s closure. BTW, my Father/Soldier, passed away last June at the age of 92. His generation is going fast.
forget about the hawk. The enemy soldiers were particularly trying to shoot down the war pigeons. There were pigeons delivering the message even though he was shot in the chest and his leg was severed. they are truly heroic animals. they saved millions of lives.
During the second world war the germans still had eagle's positioned on the beaches of western europe to intercept pigeon's heading for Great Britian. Aswell all homing pigeon's in the occupied countries were systematically killed. which resulted in pigeon's being hidden in chimney's and behind walls. and up to this you will often still find pigeon remains (With serial rings) during renovations of older homes.
@That Dude There Yup. I agree except $800 per pound? Maybe for some outdoor, unless you just got the hookups. It's more like $1k-1,200 out here in the Bay Area, you know, where we got the real dank homie 😎.
My old man was a pigeon flyer. He would have loved this episode. He maintained a loft of 175 birds. My mother was the president of the Pigeons Widows Association. Dad entered a young, setting hen in a race from Klamath Falls. She made it home in one day, to North Hollywood. I was playing near the loft in the early summer evening when I heard that voice, "DON'T MOVE". He spent the next few hours on the phone in wild disbelief.
Aw man! I wish Sabaton had included Cher Ami in their song about The Lost Battalion. I have to say, I did not realize how high the success rate was of pigeon messengers in general. Fantastic video!
I just realized why I chose to major in philosophy in college... because I enjoy history so much! Thanks @thehistoryguy!!! Fear not, my degree got me a good paying career in logistics =)
When I was young I used to raise racing homers, rollers and tumblers.I always enjoyed taking my pigeons out and then racing them home and they usually won.
Great.. Retired commercial pilot now feeding ...Birds. Love to see those flying friends i have seen over the deep ocean in their long migrations. They are great long distance flyiers..
Two of my friends raised homing pigeons. One of them had one of the special boxes that a dismounted soldier could carry two pigeons. It was about 18 inches long rectangle shaped box with the open ends maybe 4 to 5 inches square. Padded on the inside. One pigeon was placed in each end facing out. The box was the attached across the back of the soldiers gear. One of them told me that for many years the US Navy used pigeons in their search and rescue seaplanes. The small windows near the tail were for two pigeons one on each side. Pigeons have extremely good eyesight. They were trained to spot the blaze orange of distress markers and would peck a tab for food when they saw the orange. This would light an indicator for the pilot to know which way to turn to effect the rescue.
Never realized just how integral homing pigeons were to the modernization of human society. We relied on them for thousands of years to deliver letters through open skies and wortoen skies. And when telecommunications rendered the pigeon obselete we abandoned them and treat them like flying rats and vermin at no fault of their own. Most underrated bird to date.
My favorite part of all history is the story behind the headlines ... and you provide that and so very much more. Thank you for re-igniting my own love of history!
THG takes flight and doesn't 'wing it' in this episode on the importance a old feathered friend. Wars, piece and pleasure this fellow came through. Thanks again
The story of Cher Ami in World War I is quite dramatic. Too bad History Guy couldn't go into more detail about that one. Cher Ami was the last chance the 77th had after the first few pigeons who attempted to get the message out were shot down in front of the the unit, each man having their eyes on the each separate attempt. They all believed, that they had breathed their last, when Cher Ami, the last pigeon they had, was shot down on that last, hoping against hope, attempt. You can hear their groan as Cher Ami hit the ground. ...But, suddenly, Cher Ami took flight again, you can hear the soldiers cheer, and despite being severely wounded, Cher Ami heroically got the message through, the bombardment ceased and the 77th was saved! ...As History Guy pointed out, Cher Ami won the Croix de Guerre. It is the highest award in France, Human or Pigeon.
lol who is to say we arnt? marry this with subdermal flash and it a way to get date out of a country that doesn't involve wireless signals. if the cia hasnt at least looked at this id be suprised.
Raised Homers as a kid., but never understood how a mobile loft worked in fluid conditions of war time? Turns out the birds return or "home" to the loft itself and not a particular locale. Usual practice was to set up mobile lofts near a command center, give the birds a few days to fly around, familiarize themselves with local landmarks. Then sent out with the troops. Generally, pigeons are trained to fly in one direction only. Upon release at the front, Allied birds generally flew west while German birds flew East, or trained for a specific direction. All in all, quite a logistical undertaking for any army. - Cool programs! Keep'em coming history guy!
Wayyy back in the dim and misty I found an old book in the library..."GayNeck: Story of a Pigeon"..... it was the homing pigeons life including a mission or two during world war one.
That was just fascinating HG and a wonderful reminder of how useful fauna of this planet can be. If you are somewhat incapacitated in the field or the woods your horse will take you home, your tractor may not.
Thanks a million History Guy for another outstanding video. Its unbelievable that these birds were so amazing. Today’s lesson reminded me of the excellent vid you recently did on the USS Pigeon , I believe the most decorated ship in the history of the US Navy , and likewise just amazing ! Yours are my first “go-to” clicks on Ytube daily . Thanks for all you do to bring these to great stories to us so they are not forgotten by history . Because they ‘deserve to be remembered ‘
Nothing strikes fear into the hearts and minds of an opponent like the pigeon. Truly terrifying! Thanks for video History Guy....another interesting tidbit like always.
My Mom's uncle, George Heberer went into the US Army in 1917 as a private. He had raised and raced pigeons most of his life and was assigned to the Signal Corps. He was given a commission as a Lieutenant and tasked to create the first mobile pigeon vehicle for the Army which he did by building a coop on the back of a standard Army truck. He went to France and taught troops and trained pigeons both for the Army for the short duration of the war. When Mom researched her book on the family she obtained a picture of his first mobile pigeon vehicle and his commissioning papers. Apparently he enjoyed success in the mission and returned home after the war and continued racing and raising pigeons.
*covering pigeon in soot* "No one will think that this is actually a pigeon" - I can't believe that worked!! And what if it had rained, à la 101 Dalmatians... ha.
Hey History Guy, today on Turner Classic Movies its 24 hours of Irene Dunn. At 2:45pst Penny Serenade that's a true tearjerker. 6:45 Oscar winning I Remember Mama. Tomorrow is Errol Flynn starting at 3:00am Love Affair Starts at 12:45
RAF pigeon Cologne a veteran of over 100 bombing missions homed from several crashed aircraft but on one occasion , despite serious injuries thought to have been sustained during the crash, managed to escape and headed home to Nottingham, a distance of more than 450 miles. The flight took two weeks in all and Cologne was discovered to have completed this phenomenal journey with multiple injuries, including a broken breastbone.
One of the more interesting videos you have ever done and I like them all. Raised Homers for years. A complicated little animal in a very small package.
That is...Amazing what else could be said about these birds.....That are our little friends in time of great need indeed....Thank for bring this fourth to us in mood-tube land....Well done....But of course.....Thanks again...!
Thank you so very much for this brief but concise recognition of the contribution from the animal world. Other subjects might be a day-in-the-life reflection on working dogs in WW I, mules, horses and goats as well. Keep up the great work!
The best way to send and receive information in the modern age. All ya do is feed them. No internet trace. No URL address. No eavesdropping/spying. No GPS. Definitely a page in history that deserves to be...remembered.
Just saw you and Heidi on the "Behind the History Guy", very moving my Friend and you sure earned it. Great narration. Wonderfull research and great scripting. Your fan from Australia.
@@MrEFMinecraft Um, look up the definition of "dove" and "pidgeon" and you'll see they are basically the same species. The names by which we humans refer to these birds varies according to local disposition.
@@MrEFMinecraft As it turns out, I have a degree in Literature w/ a minor in etymology, so words are my "thing." Didn't mean to come off as pedantic. No harm, no foul, just an FYI. Be well, sir.
When Desert Storm hit back in the early 90's, I was a huge collector of trading cards and of course, it had its own set - as did everything. My favorite, and the only one I kept, is called Peace and it has a white Dove as the photo. "desert storm pro set peace" if anyone is curious.
@1tiercel I'm pretty sure they were using many profanities, ad a few prayers, as the spotted the drones. cause sure as god made little green apples ...something bad was about to happen.
Way to go HG! Another great video about a forgotten subject. I'm working on a few ideas and I will get back soon so until then keep up the good work! ThanksI
The story of Belgium in WWI and WWII is fascinating random pigeon drops were just one of the fascinating things that happened one of the others being the grannies knitting coded messages from railway station.
Cher Ami was the last pigeon of the "Lost Battalion," the others having fallen to fusillades of German rifle fire. Actually they weren't lost, the Germans knew where they were and poured on deadly accurate artillery fire. The Americans also pounded their position. They were being wiped out. Cher Ami was released and seen by many Germans who let loose on the American messenger. Cher Ami was hit by 8mm Mauser fire two or three times, loosing an eye and a leg. He carried his message anyway, at 60 miles per hour for over twenty miles. The French medal he was awarded is their highest one, it's not a joke. He rests in honor at the Smithsonian.
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To think that a bird so common as the pigeon has saved so many people - yet annoy so many people with their droppings - is so important that specific birds have had surgeons operate on them to save their lives, even when their working ability is lost... it is amazing. Today we see all pigeons as "flying rats"... wow, what a change in just half a century to a function used for thousands of years.
One of my uncle's raised racing pigeons and competed in long distance competitions. They would drive the pigeons to a starting point, attached ID rings around the legs and release the pigeons. Back at home he would just open some hatches on the coop and wait for them to return.
My dad was a pigeoneer in the signal corps during ww2 In Okinawa. Thanks recognizing the efforts of these important little friends!
@Joel Albinowski - I had no idea that pigeons were used in the Pacific Theater in World War Two! Thank you for sharing your Dad's service with us.
Amazing 🍻
Joel - I was watching this video on pigeons used during the war. My kids are doing a History Day project on the pigeons' role in the war for communications. Would you have any information for them? It would be fabulous if your veteran pigeoneer father was still alive for an interview. my email is jnewby@cbcsd.org
That is so damn cool.
Your dad was pigeon?!
I have a relative who, as a member of the Lost Battalion, was saved by Cher Ami. What a story. Thank you History Guy!
Cool! Have you seen Count Dankula’s Mini Mad Lads episode about Cher Ami?
I had a homing pigeon that I taught my son to hand raise many yrs ago his name was Pepper. He lived outside on top of a cabinet on the carport. Mom hated the pigeon because it pooped down the side of the cabinet. Mom had me bring the pigeon back to Fla during one of my many trips. He resided on my front porch light. About 2 weeks later he was gone and low and behold he found his way right back to the cabinet on Mom's carport. The next time she tried to get rid of him, she put him on a plane and flew him back to Fl thinking it would mess with his homing abilities. It did not work. Wasted 40 bucks. He was back on the cabinet in 3 weeks this time. She gave up finally. I loved that little pigeon. He flew 711 miles from Fla to Tennessee each time.
That's awesome ^_^ makes me want to get 1
@@patrickmcglonejr8163 He was a pretty good watch bird also. Every time someone came to the front porch he cooed loudly. Other than that you wouldn't even know he was around.
What a great story!
"Mom hated the pigeon -- had me bring the pigeon back to Fla" a sad testimony to your parents relationship.
Your mom cared too. Thanks for the story.
I love that you paid tribute to the role these pigeons played in WW2. We have a display about how homing pigeons were used in the war at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa ID. Most visitors are surprised to learn that they were used in warfare and that they received medals and commendations for their service. Great video! Thanks, History Guy!
Garret Vaughn
Thank you for sharing .
My grandmother was born in raised in Belgium and lived in Bastogne during the second world war. The family owned a cafe (which is still there today) and her father, my great-grandfather raised homing pigeons for racing purposes. It was a rather profitable hobby for him as he had bred some of the fastest in Europe. When the Nazis came through the door in May of 1940, one of the first things they did was march out to the cages of his prized birds and strangled every single one of them.
In a bit of poetic justice, his son would go one to become a secret courier for the Underground. So in a way, the spirit of those magnificent birds carried on through him.
MuricaForever I believe Belgium is where our pigeons here came from. I know Belgium is still very much into show pigeons.
Thanks for giving us another reason to despise the not sees. Of course they saw the potential for communication in the pigeons, so they were compelled to destroy them. What a satisfying revenge story ultimately.
@@spiritmatter1553 my dad was in the signal pigeon corps in England, he told me Hitler owned pigeons as well,so the Germans knew how valuable in war they were.
I was pleased to see you noted the Swiss having a pigeon service until 1996: one of my teachers did his military service with a pigeon unit in the 1980s!
If there is ever a "Best of The History Guy," then this one belongs in that collection. Keep up the great work!
When we lost our daughter at 19, our friend wanted white doves released. A neighbour said not doves, use my homing pigeons. Doves would land in the trees and poop on us. The pigeons went up, circled, and flew north. It was beautiful.
I'm sorry for your loss. I'm glad the pigeons helped in their way.
Kids in highschool: History is soo boring!
The History Guy: Hold my pigeon!
Have to say its amazing the things pigeons can do in there determination to get home..... I raced pigeons for 20 years in Ireland.... Every year we had races from as far as France and Britain to Ireland..... 1 race I had 1 of my best pigeons not come home from a race on the day which was very odd because it was usually in my 1st few home each week.... 2 days later I got the pigeon back with half of both of its wings gone , a chunk of its tail and it had a rip in its crop (stomach).... I got my father who was a champion racer to help me save the pigeon by stitching up its crop and it was back racing again when its wounds healed.... it got me a top place in its 1st race back then... I retired it for breeding then which produced some great winning pigeons for me.... Its parents breed loads of winners for my dad.... They amazed me when I was younger in why I took up racing like my dad.... Amazing how far they can travel....👍😉
Spent a short time in Oklahoma City OK last year. They have a pigeon museum. We just happen to drive by and decided to go. Displays about war pigeons and racing. Most oddly fascinating place I’ve ever seen. Would def recommend it. And it’s free. And there’s love pigeons of all different breeds.
"History that deserves to be remembered" i love the variety of history you provide, its truly interesting!
I live in Queens New York City and my Grandfather had over 5,000 pigeons divided as Homers, Tiplets, and show birds. Many a weekend morning my Grandfather would exercise his birds sending them aloft. Other nearby pigeon mongers would do the same until the two or three flocks would hit into each others. When the birds would return to the coop ,we would check what birds returned and if we had any new comers. My grandfather would meet the other mongers at a pet shop selling pigeon feed and exchange the birds
My Grandmother had many ways of cooking pigeons. The young ones would be use as meat in the tomato sauce for the summer pasta meal. The middle age ones into her pigeon pot pie, and the very old ones into pigeon soup. If ever a pigeon lost a race, he or she would be dinner soon after.
How do you know which pigeon won a race? A temporary removable band would be issued when you entered a bird into a race and delivered them to the pigeon club sponsoring the race . After the birds were transported to a great distant, they would release the birds. You would be waiting at your coop for your bird to return. After coaching it down you removed the band and put it into a time stamping clock and you went back to the club to meet with the other mongers and compared the times.
Anthony Cavaliere our neighborhood in The Bronx had many coop owners with some having huge coops on roof and garage tops. I remember seeing them in the air almost all the time. I live in upstate NY now and we do have one person one road over that has pigeons. It’s a small flock, but he sends them up every day. I’ve heard some strange stories of guys trying to get their bird down off an antenna to get the pill into the clock. Some didn’t have happy endings. I always wanted to try my hand at, but never did. I thought it was a cool sport.
@@TheNortheastAl it was. I have many of fond memories with my Grandfather and still have many of his awards and trophies in my hom after 60+ years.
@@TheNortheastAl unfortunately the NYC Dept of Health crack down on many pigeon mongers as neighborhood became gentrified. The new comers would file false claims.
My Grandfather's pigeons were very healthy and we would give them bath regularly. Giving a pigeon a bath is very easy. Place a pan on the floor of the coop with clean water and a disinfectant and the pigeons would line up and one or two would jump into the pan and take a bath. As the stepped out another would entry. Never saw humans behave with such manner at a subway or bus stop.
@@anthonyC214 - WOW!! Thats crazy ive never heard of anything like that!! Thanks for that lil bit of info!!👍
Anthony Cavaliere about 10 or so years back in NYC they started letting people have small coop again. I don’t know if they were racing them or not, but I think the city limited the amount of birds you could have. I think there was a documentary or something with Mike Tyson getting people interested in it. He is supposedly a big pigeon fancier.
Never thought pigeons could be so interesting. Really enjoyed this.
Pigeons aren't used in the military any more.
The risk of coups is too high.
Dynamite drop in, those years of broadcasting school have really paid off!
You're a horrible little man.
Be funnier if coop was pronounced the same as coup.
misterjag I believe it works with the pronunciation of “coo” (as in a pigeon’s call/sound) too
Ba Dum Tss!
This brought back memories of my visiting my uncle Sam Gordon in Winnipeg and his backyard pigeon coops. He had been involved in the Canadian Army's WWII pigeon program.
I have always loved the story of cher ami. Such an amazing bird.
Pigeons are my favourite animals. They are brilliant and brave.
Speckled Jim’s service shall never be forgotten.
When I was a kid, my grandma used to tell me stories about how when she was a little girl, she helped her dad with his homing pigeons and when they came back to the roost after a race they would circle around but not land. She had to climb on the top of the roof and wave her arms and coo and coax the pigeons in, so that their time could be recorded. This would have been around the early 1900s. Pigeon racing was quite popular back then (they had no TH-cam after all ...).
me and my grandfather, great grandfather and great great grandfather all have raced pigeons.. its like a family tradition and theyre so damn smart, we've sent ours to barcelona over 1000km and over 3 days they'll fly home and only stop to sleep and drink
I wonder if a modern tiny digital camera (HD? 4K?) could be attached to a pigeon on a long flight. Wouldn't it be interesting to watch the playback of the trip from the viewpoint of the pigeon. The camera might be motion activated to not record hours of nighttime in a tree...or just where will the pigeon sleep? It could be set to 1 frame per second, maybe, to reduce video memory usage.
We've put trackers on them yeah, they stop in Spain, France, then over the shortest part of the channel, it still amazes me how they manage to pick the shortest part, sure there's videos on TH-cam about it too, James May from top gear tried to race a pigeon and lost miserably lmao
And we had one of our birds get caught in Beijing.. Only the pigeon knows how it got there but I got an email asking if it was mine.. He'd been gone over 2 years before anyone reported him to us
Paratrooper Pigeons! I knew about the “Lost Battalion” using pigeons in WWI, but I had no idea they were still used so extensively in WWII! Thanks for the story!
What a great educational story. I have to assume that more than a few hours went into this extensive deep dive into pigeon history!
We bought a home in upstate NY a few years ago, and from day one, a white pigeon whom we called “Walter” landed on our deck, and hung around....my wife, being the good soul, wondered if Walter was looking for the last family? She fed him by hand, he stayed with us and all the kids got to pet Walter and feed him. Sadly, we found Walter dead one day, he’s buried in our back yard next to our faithful dog champ....he gave our family a wonderful experience and we often talk of him. Today’s video reminded me of Walter . Thank you Sir.
My dad was a 'pigeoneer' in the British Army in WW2, He went ashore with the US Army in North Africa during 'Operation Torch' in November 1942. Also landed in Sicily and Anzio, Italy.
A pigeon flew into My front yard so I immediately put a milk crate over it and I put a brick on top of the crate until I found the nearest pigeon farm...found it and they came out to get the pigeon...so I asked if I could put a note in the band on the pigeon...I did and the pigeon did its job and the person did get my message...how exciting!
More on this, please.
@@martind349
That's the whole story!
Another great episode. Of my 18 years as a military dependent, six of them were spent at Ft. Monmouth, NJ, home of the US Army Signal Corps. One of the features of the post library were the pigeons, mounted around the room, in glass cases, that bore a description of the birds service, and any medals received. These were a personal favorite and I’ve often wondered of their fate following Ft Monmouth’s closure.
BTW, my Father/Soldier, passed away last June at the age of 92. His generation is going fast.
Supposedly they are in storage at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Loved the story. Thanks for researching this subject matter.
Great ending... text book use of irony that should be included in High School English classes to define "irony". Well done H.G.
I've always heard of homing pigeons but didn't realize their importance and use during wartime. Very interesting....
US Army: *War Pigeon*
Wehrmacht: *Hawk* (counter UAV deployed)
forget about the hawk. The enemy soldiers were particularly trying to shoot down the war pigeons. There were pigeons delivering the message even though he was shot in the chest and his leg was severed. they are truly heroic animals. they saved millions of lives.
Thank you for this amazing ( little spoken of ) history.
Awesome story!!! Thank you...
During the second world war the germans still had eagle's positioned on the beaches of western europe to intercept pigeon's heading for Great Britian. Aswell all homing pigeon's in the occupied countries were systematically killed. which resulted in pigeon's being hidden in chimney's and behind walls. and up to this you will often still find pigeon remains (With serial rings) during renovations of older homes.
A bully killing one of Mike Tyson's pigeons is why he got into boxing. That's history that deserves to be remembered.
As man reborn into a humble gentle giant it's best to remember him asuch
That's a history fact most people don't know about.. I had even forgotten.
And ya 40 grand a month is ridiculous! We got the best bud here in Washington ^_^
@That Dude There I hate bullys
@That Dude There Yup. I agree except $800 per pound? Maybe for some outdoor, unless you just got the hookups. It's more like $1k-1,200 out here in the Bay Area, you know, where we got the real dank homie 😎.
My old man was a pigeon flyer. He would have loved this episode. He maintained a loft of 175 birds. My mother was the president of the Pigeons Widows Association. Dad entered a young, setting hen in a race from Klamath Falls. She made it home in one day, to North Hollywood. I was playing near the loft in the early summer evening when I heard that voice, "DON'T MOVE". He spent the next few hours on the phone in wild disbelief.
Aw man! I wish Sabaton had included Cher Ami in their song about The Lost Battalion. I have to say, I did not realize how high the success rate was of pigeon messengers in general. Fantastic video!
I just realized why I chose to major in philosophy in college... because I enjoy history so much! Thanks @thehistoryguy!!! Fear not, my degree got me a good paying career in logistics =)
I just saw our host The History Guy at the end of a Tank Museum video. It took me by surprise.
This is a very upbeat story. Thanks THG!
When I was young I used to raise racing homers, rollers and tumblers.I always enjoyed taking my pigeons out and then racing them home and they usually won.
Soldier, here's your rifle, ammo, canteen, grenades, pigeon, bayonet, compass. Sir?
Great.. Retired commercial pilot now feeding ...Birds. Love to see those flying friends i have seen over the deep ocean in their long migrations. They are great long distance flyiers..
Two of my friends raised homing pigeons.
One of them had one of the special boxes that a dismounted soldier could carry two pigeons.
It was about 18 inches long rectangle shaped box with the open ends maybe 4 to 5 inches square.
Padded on the inside.
One pigeon was placed in each end facing out.
The box was the attached across the back of the soldiers gear.
One of them told me that for many years the US Navy used pigeons in their search and rescue seaplanes.
The small windows near the tail were for two pigeons one on each side.
Pigeons have extremely good eyesight.
They were trained to spot the blaze orange of distress markers and would peck a tab for food when they saw the orange.
This would light an indicator for the pilot to know which way to turn to effect the rescue.
Never realized just how integral homing pigeons were to the modernization of human society. We relied on them for thousands of years to deliver letters through open skies and wortoen skies. And when telecommunications rendered the pigeon obselete we abandoned them and treat them like flying rats and vermin at no fault of their own. Most underrated bird to date.
The mention of Olga of kyiv sent me down quite the rabbit hole. Amazing video
Wouldn't it be wonderful if decorated wounded military veterans could also see out their days in a breeding program
LOL!
Well done sir,
Well done.
It might be, but not many of us vets are into birds -_-
@@timmainson Plenty of British ones who are into "birds"!
This made my day
Amazing collection of photographs.
We lived on and off in Brooklyn and I used to enjoy watching the birds exercising and flying in big flocks, it was truly a thing of beauty.
Dickin Medals: Pigeons 32; Dogs 33; Horses 5; Cat 1.
Peter Smith A Goat was nominated once.
The cat died pissed about this...
My favorite part of all history is the story behind the headlines ... and you provide that and so very much more. Thank you for re-igniting my own love of history!
THG takes flight and doesn't 'wing it' in this episode on the importance a old feathered friend. Wars, piece and pleasure this fellow came through. Thanks again
THANK YOU, for this very enjoyable series.
The story of Cher Ami in World War I is quite dramatic. Too bad History Guy couldn't go into more detail about that one. Cher Ami was the last chance the 77th had after the first few pigeons who attempted to get the message out were shot down in front of the the unit, each man having their eyes on the each separate attempt. They all believed, that they had breathed their last, when Cher Ami, the last pigeon they had, was shot down on that last, hoping against hope, attempt. You can hear their groan as Cher Ami hit the ground. ...But, suddenly, Cher Ami took flight again, you can hear the soldiers cheer, and despite being severely wounded, Cher Ami heroically got the message through, the bombardment ceased and the 77th was saved! ...As History Guy pointed out, Cher Ami won the Croix de Guerre. It is the highest award in France, Human or Pigeon.
We still could be using pigeons to this day in so many ways!
Pies for one...
lol who is to say we arnt? marry this with subdermal flash and it a way to get date out of a country that doesn't involve wireless signals. if the cia hasnt at least looked at this id be suprised.
Raised Homers as a kid., but never understood how a mobile loft worked in fluid conditions of war time? Turns out the birds return or "home" to the loft itself and not a particular locale. Usual practice was to set up mobile lofts near a command center, give the birds a few days to fly around, familiarize themselves with local landmarks. Then sent out with the troops. Generally, pigeons are trained to fly in one direction only. Upon release at the front, Allied birds generally flew west while German birds flew East, or trained for a specific direction. All in all, quite a logistical undertaking for any army. - Cool programs! Keep'em coming history guy!
Wayyy back in the dim and misty I found an old book in the library..."GayNeck: Story of a Pigeon"..... it was the homing pigeons life including a mission or two during world war one.
Once again, you made a lesson about a subject I had scant interest highly informative and entertaining! Well done.
That was just fascinating HG and a wonderful reminder of how useful fauna of this planet can be. If you are somewhat incapacitated in the field or the woods your horse will take you home, your tractor may not.
Watching your videos reminds me when I was a child and I would watch docunenteries the History channel. Thank you for putting out this content.
Thanks a million History Guy for another outstanding video. Its unbelievable that these birds were so amazing.
Today’s lesson reminded me of the excellent vid you recently did on the
USS Pigeon ,
I believe the most decorated ship in the history of the US Navy , and likewise just amazing !
Yours are my first “go-to” clicks on Ytube daily .
Thanks for all you do to bring these to great stories to us so they are not forgotten by history .
Because they ‘deserve to be remembered ‘
Nothing strikes fear into the hearts and minds of an opponent like the pigeon. Truly terrifying! Thanks for video History Guy....another interesting tidbit like always.
My Mom's uncle, George Heberer went into the US Army in 1917 as a private. He had raised and raced pigeons most of his life and was assigned to the Signal Corps. He was given a commission as a Lieutenant and tasked to create the first mobile pigeon vehicle for the Army which he did by building a coop on the back of a standard Army truck. He went to France and taught troops and trained pigeons both for the Army for the short duration of the war. When Mom researched her book on the family she obtained a picture of his first mobile pigeon vehicle and his commissioning papers. Apparently he enjoyed success in the mission and returned home after the war and continued racing and raising pigeons.
That Irish pigeon on D-day should have been called Right Way Corrigan
Just when you think you know something about a subject, lol. Another superb video. cheers...rr Normandy, France
*covering pigeon in soot* "No one will think that this is actually a pigeon" - I can't believe that worked!! And what if it had rained, à la 101 Dalmatians... ha.
Hey History Guy, today on Turner Classic Movies its 24 hours of Irene Dunn. At 2:45pst Penny Serenade that's a true tearjerker. 6:45 Oscar winning I Remember Mama. Tomorrow is Errol Flynn starting at 3:00am Love Affair Starts at 12:45
RAF pigeon Cologne a veteran of over 100 bombing missions homed from several crashed aircraft but on one occasion , despite serious injuries thought to have been sustained during the crash, managed to escape and headed home to Nottingham, a distance of more than 450 miles. The flight took two weeks in all and Cologne was discovered to have completed this phenomenal journey with multiple injuries, including a broken breastbone.
Fabulous THG.
Never a dull episode
One of the more interesting videos you have ever done and I like them all. Raised Homers for years. A complicated little animal in a very small package.
Unbelievable!! Now this is history that defiantly needs to be remembered!!👍
That is...Amazing what else could be said about these birds.....That are our little friends in time of great need indeed....Thank for bring this fourth to us in mood-tube land....Well done....But of course.....Thanks again...!
Thank you so very much for this brief but concise recognition of the contribution from the animal world. Other subjects might be a day-in-the-life reflection on working dogs in WW I, mules, horses and goats as well. Keep up the great work!
The best way to send and receive information in the modern age. All ya do is feed them. No internet trace. No URL address. No eavesdropping/spying. No GPS. Definitely a page in history that deserves to be...remembered.
I love your channel. How about doing the history of the bow tie? It seems fitting.
Just saw you and Heidi on the "Behind the History Guy", very moving my Friend and you sure earned it. Great narration. Wonderfull research and great scripting. Your fan from Australia.
This vid was for the birds. And not even one pirate.
Lol. Now, what's the forgotten history about pirates' parrots?
How fowl!
Gotta love the irony of the pigeon morphing from a tool of war to the symbol for Peace and Love.
You're thinking of a dove my son
@@MrEFMinecraft Um, look up the definition of "dove" and "pidgeon" and you'll see they are basically the same species. The names by which we humans refer to these birds varies according to local disposition.
@@v.e.7236 I commented that half way thru the video without seeing the last part yet my son. It's all gonna be ok
@@MrEFMinecraft As it turns out, I have a degree in Literature w/ a minor in etymology, so words are my "thing." Didn't mean to come off as pedantic. No harm, no foul, just an FYI. Be well, sir.
When Desert Storm hit back in the early 90's, I was a huge collector of trading cards and of course, it had its own set - as did everything. My favorite, and the only one I kept, is called Peace and it has a white Dove as the photo. "desert storm pro set peace" if anyone is curious.
"Let fly the birds of war!" disappointment ensues.
Until the Artillery the bird just called down starts to fall out of the heavens...
@1tiercel I'm pretty sure they were using many profanities, ad a few prayers, as the spotted the drones. cause sure as god made little green apples ...something bad was about to happen.
Could you do a video on Roy Benavidez ? He has an amazing story that should never be forgotten.
Way to go HG! Another great video about a forgotten subject. I'm working on a few ideas and I will get back soon so until then keep up the good work! ThanksI
What a neat story! Thanks for sharing this.
How fascinating. I enjoyed this very much. Thank you for sharing a part of your day with us!
The story of Belgium in WWI and WWII is fascinating random pigeon drops were just one of the fascinating things that happened one of the others being the grannies knitting coded messages from railway station.
I had no idea that pidgeons were still in use during WW2.
Thank you for having taught me something new today.
The Nine Ounce Warrior.
Another well-done episode! Thank you sir!
He shot my Speckeled Jim!!!
And he was delicious. Long live Blackadder.
The Flanders Pigeon Murderer!
th-cam.com/video/1BxFlmb6S6E/w-d-xo.html
+1 cunning plan
Amazing content; delivered flawlessly. Thank you for this!!!
Cher Ami was the last pigeon of the "Lost Battalion," the others having fallen to fusillades of German rifle fire. Actually they weren't lost, the Germans knew where they were and poured on deadly accurate artillery fire. The Americans also pounded their position. They were being wiped out. Cher Ami was released and seen by many Germans who let loose on the American messenger. Cher Ami was hit by 8mm Mauser fire two or three times, loosing an eye and a leg. He carried his message anyway, at 60 miles per hour for over twenty miles. The French medal he was awarded is their highest one, it's not a joke. He rests in honor at the Smithsonian.
To think that a bird so common as the pigeon has saved so many people - yet annoy so many people with their droppings - is so important that specific birds have had surgeons operate on them to save their lives, even when their working ability is lost... it is amazing.
Today we see all pigeons as "flying rats"... wow, what a change in just half a century to a function used for thousands of years.
As usual you don’t disappoint! Thank You!
Another great and interesting video. Even the pigeons are in your debt now. :-)
As always . . . fascinating. Absolutely love the channel. Keep it coming and thanks for sharing.
Always different, always interesting. You never disappoint or make me yawn, HG 👍 well done, sir.
9:52 - That is an incredible fact, and represents hundreds of lives saved.
One of my uncle's raised racing pigeons and competed in long distance competitions. They would drive the pigeons to a starting point, attached ID rings around the legs and release the pigeons. Back at home he would just open some hatches on the coop and wait for them to return.
History guy you never cease to amaze! very good story!
Very cool and nicely told......I love animals, so this story is especially touching. They are amazing birds.
I really enjoyed this snippet.