Homing Pigeons during the war
Just read a great article in America in World War II mag. I copied it for your viewing pleasure. It's a downloadable PDF file. It will take a while to download depending on your connection speed.
http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/For...gPigeons001.pdf
Here's a great news clip on the BBC site:
"THE FLIGHT" PREMIER AT THE YANKEE AIR MUSEUM"
Dear Marion,
I am honored to announce the premier of "The Flight" at the Yankee Air Museum's First Family Movie Night Under The Stars in Michigan. The Yankee Air Museum is home to "Thunder Over Michigan Air Show" where the world renowned U.S. Navy "Blue Angels" fly.
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT UNDER THE STARS!
Friday August 14, 2009 - Starts at 7:30 pm.
Saturday August 15, 2009 - Rain Date.
Join us on the East Lawn adjacent to the School House for a double feature! To begin, you can enjoy an exhibit set up about the Pigeon Signal Air Corp used during WWI and WWII. The children will have some activities to do that make learning this piece of history a lot of fun. Once dusk arrives, get your pop and popcorn (provided by the Yankee Air Museum), find your chairs or blanket and pillows that you brought from home, and enjoy Al Croseri's short film, The Flight as well as Disney's Valiant. Cost is $25 per family if you are a member of Yankee Air Museum or $30 per family if you are a non-member.
Please visit the website for further details or Click Here And Scroll Down.
Best regards,
Al Croseri
Hi Marion,
I thought you may find of interest, Dr. David Bird's column, "Fine, feathered war heros. Birds transported vital information during World Wars and before," The Gazette, Montreal, Canada.
Dr. David M. Bird is professor of Wildlife Biology and Director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University. He is the author or editor of several books including City Critters: How to Live with Urban Wildlife, Bird's Eye View: A Practical Compendium for Bird Lovers and The Bird Almanac: The Ultimate Guide to Essential Facts on the World's Birds. Dr. Bird has received many awards for his conservation efforts and is past-president of the Raptor Research Foundation, a Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union, and Canadian representative on the International Ornithological Committee. He is a regular columnist on birds for Bird Watcher's Digest and the Montreal Gazette.
The Pigeoneers Press
Fine, feathered war heros
Birds transported vital information during World Wars and before
By David Bird
The Gazette, Montreal, Canada
November 18, 2009
I often think of my dad repairing the skins of the Spitfires and Hurricanes that were shot to pieces by Messerschmits, Focke Wulfs and ground fire over the Dutch coast during the Second World War. He didn't talk about war much, except to say that most of the time he was scared out of his wits. But David Archibald Bird was not the only "bird" over there fighting the Nazis.
While many of us refer to them as "winged rats" or "flying bags of disease," the lowly rock pigeon has played a very significant role during a number of wars, notably in both World Wars and as recently as the Korean War.
Known as homing or carrier pigeons, these birds have a remarkable talent for finding their way back to their loft over distances of thousands of kilometres and from unfamiliar places in all kinds of weather. They have been valued as faithful carriers of messages during times of both war and peace.
War pigeons were parachuted behind enemy lines in containers for use by the resistance to carry information critical to the Allies. Other birds were released from mobile lofts, tanks and aircraft to take vital messages back to headquarters. Naturally, these actions made them targets for enemy soldiers using not only guns but trained falcons. Tens of thousands died and a number became feathered folk heroes.
To read the entire column, please visit "The Pigeoneers" page on the website: www.pigeonsincombat.com or please click here and scroll down.
Kind regards,
Al Croseri
Dear Marion,
I thought you may enjoy reading Long John Silver's tribute. The tribute includes the article, "Stumpy" John Silver: Heroic Winged Messenger, by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
PIGEONS IN COMBAT'S tribute to Long John Silver, the famous WWI American War Pigeon Hero.
LONG JOHN SILVER, WWI AMERICAN WAR PIGEON HERO
"LONG JOHN SILVER," 1918-1936
BRED BY U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS
HATCHED JANUARY 1918 IN A FRONT LINE DUGOUT, FRANCE
SERVED IN THE MEUSE ARGONNE OFFENSIVE
WOUNDED SEVERELY IN BATTLE ON OCTOBER 21, 1918
FLEW 25 MILES IN 25 MINUTES WITH A SHOT OFF LEG
AWARDED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL
RETIRED FROM ACTIVE SERVICE IN 1921
REASSIGNED TO 11TH SIGNAL COMPANY, SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII
HANDLED BY COL. CLIFFORD A. POUTRE FROM 1929-1936
SPECIALTY - DELIVERING MESSAGES UNDER INTENSE ENEMY ARTILLERY FIRE
"STUMPY" JOHN SILVER: HEROIC WINGED MESSENGER
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
Homing pigeons were used in World War I to deliver messages when other means such as telephones, telegraph, radio or dispatch riders were unavailable. They proved their value carrying messages from front line outposts to pigeon lofts at command centers, which they returned to by instinct and training.
This homing pigeon was hatched in January 1918 in a dugout just behind the lines in France. During the Meuse-Argonne offensive, he was one of the most active pigeons in the Army, and his barrage-dodging skill was apparent in many exciting flights from the front line trenches to divisional pigeon lofts.
To read the entire article and to see Long John Silver's tribute, please visit "The Pigeoneers" section on the website : http://www.pigeonsincombat.com/thepigeoneerswebpage.html or please click here and scroll down.
Kind regards,
Al Croseri
Dear Marion,
I share this news with great sorrow. Peter Zakutansky, WWII Night Flyer, Dies at 88.
Pigeons In Combat's Memorial tribute to Pete includes photographs, letters to his Mom and the article, "Pigeons fly the coop in support of soldiers," written by Renita Foster, Public Affairs Office, Fort Monmouth, N.J.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF SGT. PETER ZAKUTANSKY
1921-2010
NIGHT FLYER
WWII US ARMY PIGEONEER
In loving memory of the late Sgt. Peter Zakutansky, WWII US Army Pigeoneer, Night Flying Record holder. Pete died on Monday, March 1, 2010 at the age of 88.
Pete was born on March 18, 1921 in Old Road, Elizabeth, New Jersey. His love affair with the homing pigeons began at an early age. At 10 years of age, he started his own loft. At 12 years of age, he began training pigeons to fly at night. Soon thereafter, he learned and proved that his pigeons would fly both during the night and the day. He raced his pigeons with the Greater Elizabeth Racing Pigeon Club, winning many long and short distance races.
Pete enlisted in the US Army in 1942 and served as an armed guard in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., for the Office of Secret Mail. He was trained to fire 155 howitzers and a 30 calibre 4-man machine gunner. After describing his "night and day" flying training methods with Major Mc Clure at the Pentagon, Pete was promoted to the rank of sergeant with the 285th Signal Corps along with a special assignment to train pigeons for night flying at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After basic training at Fort Bragg, he was given his own jeep, a helper and his own location for the night loft. The night loft was located on top of a hill, a quarter of a mile away from the main pigeon section. Pete increased pigeon night flight ranges from the previous maximum of 55 miles to 163 miles. His Army Pigeons, broke the night flying record by an incredible distance of 108 miles. To this day, 68 years later, Sgt. Zakutansky still holds the Night Flying Record.
In 1943, Pete was sent to England with a six-man detachment and oversaw "pigeon communications" between three airbases in Exeter, England. Their detachment was attached to the 9th Air Force Paratroop Carriers. C-47s were used for the missions. 17 paratroopers would eject from the plane, and Pete would wrap the ripcords around his hand, lean out the door and release the pigeon. He personally flew on 15 missions, with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions on C-47s during maneuvers to release his pigeons. He was then transferred to a pigeon training area in Andover, England where they raised young pigeons and trained them to a mobile loft, P.G. 68, a 30 bird loft on a trailer.
Pete was a very dear friend and will be greatly missed. He was kind, generous and a man of integrity. He loved to talk about his theory on pigeons, the war years, his family, and especially his beloved Mom.
Pete always used to say, "I'll see ya."
VADOS CON DIOS PETE, "I'll see ya."
Al Croseri
I am honored to announce that the late Sgt. Peter Zakutansky is co-starring in The Pigeoneers II with Lt. Col. Robert S. De Adder. The film was shot on location at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and will be released in 2010.
To view Pete's entire tribute, please visit The Pigeoneers page on the website: www.pigeonsincombat.com or please click here and scroll down: www.pigeonsincombat.com/thepigeoneerswebpage.html.
Kind regards,
Al Croseri
And the latest...
Dear Marion,
I am honored to announce that Sgt. Peter Zakutansky's Memorial Tribute has been published in The Behavioral Neuroscientist and Comparative Psychologist, Volume 25, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2010.
Sgt. Peter Zakutansky, WWII US Army Pigeoneer, Night Flyer, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 1942.
The Behavioral Neuroscientist and Comparative Psychologist is the official newsletter of American Psychological Association (APA) Division 6 and is published 3 times a year.
About American Psychological Association
Based in Washington, DC, the American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With 150,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide.
Pete's tribute is featured on page 10 of the newsletter. To read the newsletter, please visit: www.pigeonsincombat.com/pigeoneersii-publications.html.
Kind regards,
Al Croseri
Hi,
Below is an article that you may find of interest.
Pigeons: Unsung Heroes of War
By Linda Lombardi | May 21, 2013
For centuries, the fastest way to send a message over a long distance was by homing pigeon. These birds carried news of a new pharaoh to all corners of ancient Egypt and relayed the results of the Olympics to the ancient Greeks. They were even one of the earliest forms of military communication, used during wars in the days of Julius Caesar and Hannibal.
Nowadays, pigeons still get to show off their skills in the sport of racing. Released in unfamiliar locations, they can find their way home from hundreds of miles away, flying at speeds up to 60 miles an hour. But they've long been replaced by advanced technology to communicate long distance, so you might be surprised to learn that they were still used by the military as late as the Second World War.
Unlike radio, messages sent by pigeon couldn't be overheard by enemy spies, and the birds often came through when technology didn't. One such hero was a bird called G.I. Joe, who saved the day for British troops when they occupied Colvi Vecchia, Italy, during World War II. The Germans had retreated unexpectedly, so the British moved in and tried to cancel the planned U.S. bombing of the city. But all their attempts to communicate failed - except for G.I. Joe, who arrived back at the air base just as the bombers were preparing to take off.
Trained to Perform Remarkable Feats
Although pigeons are born with the instinct to return to their home loft, making them effective messengers in wartime took special training. Most of the men who did this training have passed on, but filmmaker Alessandro Croseri captured the memories of some of them for a series of documentaries called The Pigeoneers.
For his first film, Croseri interviewed Col. Clifford A. Poutre, chief pigeoneer of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, before his death at the age of 103. Croseri says that Poutre "changed the whole attitude about how they were training the birds." During World War I, trainers thought the pigeons needed to be starved to make sure they'd return. In contrast, said Croseri, Poutre believed "it's all about kindness and love."
To read the entire article, please visit: http://www.pigeonsincombat.com/pigeoneersii-publications.html
Pigeons In Combat's Memorial Day Sale is for a limited time only. Sale ends May 31, 2013. Please visit the store for more details:http://store.pigeonsincombat.com/
Kind regards,
Al Croseri
Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Alessandro Croseri Productions
301 East 21st Street
New York, NY 10010