Did you know that the first news of D-Day was carried back by pigeon?
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Gustav (right), receiving the Dickin Medal for carrying the first news of the D-Day landings, alongside an avian comrade
(Image: British Pathe)
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Pigeons have been used to carry messages since at least the 6th century B.C., when they were used for long-distance communication in the Persian Empire. Messenger pigeons saw extensive wartime use as late as in the two World Wars. In fact, the very first public news of the Allied amphibious operation on D-Day was relayed by a pigeon named Gustav.
Gustav was originally owned by one Frederick Jackson in England, who got a breeding pair of pigeons from his brother to keep him busy after his wife died. Mr. Jackson joined the National Pigeon Service, a civilian organization that donated messenger birds for the war effort, in 1938, and loaned six-week-old Gustav to the Royal Air Force (RAF).
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Frederick Jackson, Gustav’s trainer
(Photo: Carolyn Mason)
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Gustav’s first missions were carrying messages from the resistance in German-occupied Belgium, but his big day came on June 6, 1944, when he and five other RAF messenger pigeons were given to Reuters news correspondent Montague Taylor aboard a Landing Ship, Tank headed for the Normandy beaches. Since the ships had to maintain radio silence, Taylor sent the following message with Gustav while still en route: "We are just 20 miles or so off the beaches. First assault troops landed 0750. Signal says no interference from enemy gunfire on beach... Steaming steadily in formation. Lightnings, Typhoons, Fortresses crossing since 0545. No enemy aircraft seen." This was the first message back home about the landings. Gustav flew 150 miles (240 km) in headwinds up to 30 mph (48 km/h), reaching his loft at Thorney Island in five hours and sixteen minutes.
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Gustav receiving the Dickin Medal from Mrs. A. V. Alexander, the wife of the First Lord of the Admiralty
(Photo: warhistoryonline.com)
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Gustav was awarded the Dickin Medal, a British decoration for animals that serve in war, for his flight. He was one of 32 pigeons decorated during the war for carrying messages. After the war, Gustav returned to his trainer, Mr. Jackson, to live out the rest of his life in peace.
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Soldiers decorate a Christmas tree in Germany, December 1944
(Photo: U.S. Army)
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