More than humans and petswent to Europe and the Pacific in World War II.
Backup communications was for the birds.
According to "In the Thick of the Fight," the U.S. Army Signal Corps put out a call for homing pigeons, early in the war:
The corps asked the six or more York County pigeon clubs to inventory how many of the county's 6,000 homing birds would be available for military service.
The military considered pigeons an important part of war communication, when other means of sending messages had broken down. The corps also cautioned the clubs about foreign agents intercepting the birds... .
Continue reading WW II homing pigeons served far from York County home.
