A newspaper clipping outlining the efforts of a heroic pigeon in World War II. By Irene Craig Neil, Starship special: “His name was GI Joe and he was an international hero of World War II. In memory of his brave flight GI Joe is now stuffed and mounted on display in all his feathered glory in the army's Pigeon Hall of Fame at Signal Corps Museum at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. In 1946, the Lord Mayor of London personally presented GI Joe with the Dickin Medal, awarded for gallantry. He later received Congressional recognition. He died at the age of 18 years on June 3, 1961 and his death made world headlines. The Heoric flight occured on Oct. 18 1943, from the village of Colvi Vecchia in Italy. The British 56th Infantry Division broke through German defences and took this village, a heavily fortified point in the German lines, shortly before a bombing raid was to be made. A note, cancelling the flight of planes, was attached to one leg of GI Joe and he headed for a British landing strip 20 miles away. Twenty minutes later he landed at the field while seven British planes were warming up. Had the planes taken off, approximately 1,000 lives would have been lost. At that time there was no other communication available. After the war, 15 hero pigeons were kept in the Churchill Loft at Fort Monmouth for a time. In 1957, the Army Signal Corps phased out the Pigeon Breeding and Training Centre because of advances in electronic communications. The hero birds, 15 who had flown combat duty, were donated to zoos. GI Joe and his mate went to the Detroit Zoological Park where they lived happily the rest of their lives. GI Joe received many awards and one was from the Allied Forces Mascot Club of Britain. He was a gallant bird!”
