War Pigeons

For more than seven decades, homing pigeons provided the U.S. military with its fastest most reliable means of communication. Originally bred for racing in the early 1800s, homing pigeons were later trained by pigeoneers to fly up to 60 mph for hundreds of miles, and served the United States for almost 75 years, through four wars on four continents. Barely weighing a pound, these extraordinary birds carried messages in and out of gas, smoke, exploding bombs and gunfire. They flew through jungles, deserts and mountains, not faltering even when faced with large expanses of ocean to cross. Sometimes they arrived nearly dead from wounds or exhaustion, refusing to give up until they reached their objective. This book is the first complete account of the remarkable service that homing pigeons provided for the American armed forces, from its fledgling beginnings after the Civil War to the birds' invaluable role in communications in every branch of the U.S. military through both World Wars and beyond. Personal narratives, primary sources and news articles tell the story of the pigeons' recruitment and training in the U.S., their deployment abroad and use on the home front.

At its heart, the book is a story of love, loss and hope, whether it's in the context of one courageous woman's hardships in coming to America, the sufferings of her son to secure love in an unsympathetic world or the struggles of a beautiful woman to continue on the path of life after her beloved has departed.

Søgeord: 1. Verdenskrig; Brevduer; Brevduetjeneste; Storbritannien.

Why did the First World War start? Who was fighting who? Did soldiers still fight with swords? Had aeroplanes been invented yet? What was it like to be inside the first tank sent to war? How could a shaving brush help you escape being captured? Did animals fight in the war? How can a pigeon be a war hero? What was the Women's Land Army? Why did it go on so long? How did it end? Find out the answers to these and lots of other exciting questions in How Can a Pigeon Be a War Hero? And Other Very Important Questions and Answers About the First World War. Published in association with the Imperial War Museum, Tracey Turner's brilliantly informative book will tell you everything you ever needed to know about World War I.

A USA Today Bestseller Inspired by fascinating, true, yet little-known events during World War II, The Long Flight Home is a testament to the power of courage in our darkest hours—a moving, masterfully written story of love and sacrifice. It is September 1940—a year into the war—and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan—loyal, intelligent, beautiful—but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from an egg that Susan incubated in a bowl under her grandfather’s desk lamp, Duchess shares a special bond with Susan and an unusual curiosity about the human world. Thousands of miles away in Buxton, Maine, young crop-duster pilot Ollie Evans decides to join Britain’s Royal Air Force. His quest brings him to Epping and the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert mission to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do will bring home crucial information. Soon a friendship between Ollie and Susan deepens, but when his plane is downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be. Yet Duchess will become an unexpected lifeline, relaying messages between Susan and Ollie as war rages on—and proving, at last, that hope is never truly lost. “Hlad adeptly drives home the devastating civilian cost of the war.” —Booklist

This special re-print edition of Hugh Gladstone's book "Birds in the War" provides information on the role that birds of many types played during World War One, from the tremendous destruction that the war had on wild bird populations, up to the heroics of Homing Pigeons who's service as winged messengers saved thousands of lives. Written in 1919, just as the First World War came to a close, chapters include Birds as Messengers, Birds as Crop Protectors, Birds As Food, Bird Eggs As Food, The Effect of the War on Birds in Captivity, The Destruction of Birds At Sea, The Effects of Air Raids and Aircraft on Birds, The Behaviour of Birds in the War Zone, Effect of the War on Birds and more. Note: This edition is a perfect facsimile of the original edition and is not set in a modern typeface. As a result, some type characters and images might suffer from slight imperfections or minor shadows in the page background.