Cher Ami and the Lost Battalion

The Story of a Famous and Heroic Homing Pigeon in World War I

Sep 16, 2008

Cher Ami was one of hundreds of homing pigeons used by American forces in France during World War I. A war hero, he saved what remained of the 77th Infantry Division.

In the past, communications over long distances were much more difficult that they are today. Homing pigeons, which have an almost unerring ability to return to the place where they were born, were often used to carry messages quickly from place to place. The birds were transported away from their native coop or dovecote and whenever anyone wanted to send a message back, it was attached to a pigeon's leg and the bird was released. The pigeon would immediately head for home.

Military leaders in the field in WWI often used homing pigeons to send messages back to command posts-American forces in continental Europe had hundreds of the birds. Cher Ami was one of these.

Under the command of Major Charles Whittlesey, the 77th Infantry Division, also known as the Liberty Division, earned the nickname the Lost Battalion after they spent six days trapped in a hollow in the Argonne Forest. More than half of the division of about five hundred men were killed in the first couple of days. Surrounded by the enemy and running short on food, water, and ammunition, the situation for the survivors was grim. Whittlesey released three of their four homing pigeons requesting aid, but none of the birds made it through the enemy lines.

Hope dwindled further when the trapped division was hit by friendly fire from their own forces, who had no idea where they were. Whittlesey had one homing pigeon left-Cher Ami. Despite heavy enemy fire, Cher Ami succeeded in making it back to headquarters, a distance of forty kilometers (twenty-five miles) in twenty-five minutes and the besieged soldiers were saved.

Cher Ami was seriously wounded on his last of twelve missions for the 77th Infantry Division, losing a leg, an eye, and taking a bullet through the breastbone. In spite of his injuries, he completed his flight home and delivered the message he'd been entrusted with.

Accounts differ as to when this injury occurred. Some recount that Cher Ami was wounded on October 4, 1918 as he flew up from the Argonne Forest in his flight to save the Lost Battalion (Wynne, Smithsonian). Others believe that he flew another mission on or about October 27 when the division crossed the Meuse River and broke through enemy lines, and that this was the day he was injured (Home of Heroes, Book of Knowledge)

Medals and Honors

Cher Ami was regarded as a war hero. He was treated for his injuries and taken to the United States after his recovery. He was awarded the French medal, the Croix de Guerre with Palm; a silver medal bestowed by General John J. Pershing; and a gold medal from the Organized Bodies of American Racing Pigeon Fanciers. He was inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame.

Though Cher Ami survived his injuries in the war, his health was permanently damaged and he died on June 13, 1919. He was preserved by a taxidermist and can still be seen today at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Do Animals Think? Wynne, Clive D. L. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006

Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Perrins, Christopher ed. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2003

The copyright of the article Cher Ami and the Lost Battalion in Birds is owned by Rosemary Drisdelle. Permission to republish Cher Ami and the Lost Battalion in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.