Laura Erickson's For the Birds

On Veterans Day we honor the men and women who fought in wars throughout our nation’s history. The sacrifices these people made were given with hope and faith that this nation would remain free and worthy of their honorable service. People who support militarism are usually classified as hawks, though real hawks have never helped our nation or any other in wartime. When countries need assistance in the heat of battle, they turn to doves.

Last year I interviewed Lt. Col. Jerome Pratt, commander of the last Pigeon Corps company used in battle during World War II. Here’s a part of that telephone interview:

LAURA: Thanks for talking to us today, Col. Pratt.

COLONEL PRATT: I’m pleased that someone is remembering the role that pigeons played during our wars.

LAURA: Tell us about the Army Signal Corps.

COLONEL PRATT: The United States Army first attempted to use pigeons back in the Indian Wars in 1877, but they weren’t too effective in the locations that they were using them. But then in 1916, they established a loft in New Mexico to give General Pershing support in the Mexican expedition. But then we did not get back into using them until World War I, and that’s when the first organized pigeon service was established in the Signal Corps. That was in Europe.

LAURA: What kind of messages did the pigeons carry?

COLONEL PRATT: They carried all types. In World War II, at critical operations such as river crossings and so on, they maintained radio silence, and the pigeons were bringing back all of the communications from the front lines to division headquarters. And they also carried sketches of map overlays and ammunition reports and things like that.

LAURA: What exactly comprised a pigeon company?

COLONEL PRATT: A pigeon company: there were nine officers. One was a veterinarian, 148 enlisted men, and we were authorized 4,500 pigeons in each company.

LAURA: How many pigeon companies were there during World War I?

COLONEL PRATT: During World War I, we only had the one company that was in Europe, but we had detachments at all of the bases here in the States and in Hawaii and Panama. But in World War II, there were 13 pigeon companies established, and 10 of them actually were used in combat. My company was with the 12th Army Group. But during the Battle of the Bulge, I had to send one of my platoons to give 3rd Army’s company additional support.

LAURA: How much of this homing was by instinct and how much involved training?

COLONEL PRATT: It’s instinctive, but you have to train them for military use because it’s different than what we consider flying to a stationary loft. To mobile train birds for military use, you start the youngsters when they’re about six weeks old. In their normal daily flights, they’ve recognized landmarks within about 12 or 15 miles of their loft. And so in combat, that was usually about the distance that we would use them because we would be leapfrogging the lofts and moving forward all the time. However, if they’re stationed to a stationary loft, those birds, like in the pigeon races, 500-mile races are common.

LAURA: Do you have any stories from back in the war about dramatic things with pigeons?

COLONEL PRATT: As you know, the story of Cher Ami shot, and one leg actually shot off and the breast injured, she still got back with the message. But during World War II, the only American pigeon we know of that actually fell into the German hands was on D-Day. And it was one carrying photographic film back from the landing, supposed to go back to England. But it strayed off course, and the Germans captured it. Here’s a story by Martin Lederhandler, the AP photographer who sent the film, from the June 4, 1994 LA Times..

LAURA: You said that the US stopped using the pigeons in 1957? What made them make the decision to end the pigeon corps?

COLONEL PRATT: When facsimile and the electronic communications were perfected enough so they could be carried into the field with backpacks and so on, the US Army felt that that was a more economical means of communication than the pigeons. I know the Swiss continued to keep some pigeons, and the Swiss even offered to provide the Allies with some during the Gulf War if they had needed them because they knew that the Iraqis were using pigeons to communicate from Kuwait back to Baghdad. But the last pigeons we used were in the Korean War and they were mostly used by intelligence people. They took pigeons up to 200 miles behind the enemy lines, the Asians did, to send back intelligence information to the headquarters in Seoul.

LAURA: We’ve been talking with Lieutenant Colonel retired Jerome Pratt, who was the commander of the final Pigeon Corps that was used in tactical service during World War II, and it’s been delightful talking with you, Colonel Pratt.

COLONEL PRATT: It’s been a pleasure to recall some of these things.