PIGEONS AND AMERICAN VETERANS

T. Berokoff, AU Member

A member of the Chattanooga Racing Pigeon Club who is also a Marine Corp veteran, Don Snow, has a dream of reaching out to veterans and introducing them to the potential healing power of the pigeon. To start this process he wanted me to meet a veteran who has experienced this healing power, Mitch Gibson.

New Flyer, Mitch Gibson

Mitch is also a Chattanooga Racing Pigeon Club member and a Vietnam War veteran.  Mitch believes that racing pigeons could serve the same function as therapy horses and dogs.  He speaks from experience.  At his request, the focus of this article is not on the man who served our country so valiantly, but rather on what the racing pigeons have done for him on his road to recovery.  Through sharing the role pigeons have played in his life, his hope and dream is that other veterans will be able to receive the same comfort he has from this bird of peace.  It is his belief that this could also a great way for returning veterans to reconnect with their families as they enjoy the sport of pigeon racing together.

GROWING UP WITH PIGEONS

It was an uncle who introduced Mitch to pigeons after his dad was killed in an automobile accident.  His initial interest in those two blue bars stayed with Mitch through high school.    He told me he would trade a pigeon with a friend from school sometimes for a chicken.  He would ride to school with a pigeon in a bag and then hide the pigeon under the floor of the school house.  After school his friend would produce a chicken he had brought and the trade would be made.  He loved having those birds and it was only girls that made his interest wane a bit in his last years of school. 

After graduating from high school, he and a friend went to a funeral home to view the older brother of a mutual friend.  At the viewing they saw the deceased Marine in full dress uniform having been killed in the Vietnam War.  This was Mitch’s first connection with the Vietnam War.  The impression of that Marine so moved Mitch that he decided he wanted to serve his country and enlisted.

A SHORT BACKGROUND ON THE MILITARY

Mitch served with the Army during the height of the Vietnam War from 1968-1969.   During his tenure in Vietnam, he was awarded 3 Purple Hearts, 2 Bronze Stars, one with Valor, and one Army Accommodation Medal.   He was featured in the Stars and Stripes six times for his efforts.  The war was not kind to Mitch’s health, having been exposed to Agent Orange.  Agent Orange gave him cancer, and after years of treatment has been in remission for three years.  The injuries he continues to deal with on a daily basis are of a mental nature.  Nothing helps him with this injury as does the pigeon. 

AFTER THE SERVICE

When Mitch returned from the service, he wanted to get back into pigeons.  He found some pigeons for sale at a feed store and he was on his way.  For years, he would buy pigeons and found nothing could calm him as effectively as the birds.

In the early 2000’s a friend of his, Mark Grisham, mentioned that a man he knew had some white pigeons.  That man was Don Snow.  When he talked to Don and asked if he could buy some pigeons, Don told him that “if a man likes pigeons, then he’ll take care of them” and gave, not sold, Mitch youngsters from his best breeders.  Over the years Don has continued to give Mitch pigeons.  Now Mitch has over 100 pigeons. 

Mitch Gibson (left) with AU Member & Mentor, Don Snow (right)

WHAT PEACE THE PIGEON BRINGS

The best part of the day is the morning when Mitch sits on his back porch with a cup of coffee watching his pigeons fly.   He allows them to have open loft if he’s going to be out watching out for hawks.  Otherwise, he flags them in after two hours.  Baby squabs with the soft yellow fuzz on their heads are Mitch’s best therapy.  He loves the sweet smell of the babies.  This is so effective for him that when he is having a stressful day that’s causing high blood pressure or his heart rate to increase, he visualizes the soft yellow fuzz and everything returns to normal.  The cooing of the birds also works wonders in calming his nerves.

He says being in the service he became an adrenal machine, always on over-drive, always over-active, and coming back to civilian life was difficult at best.  When watching the pigeons fly a wave of tranquility washes over him and calms him. 

His dream is that others returning from the service who are dealing with the memories of what they’ve experienced will be able to use pigeons as a peace giving vehicle.  It also is a means to bring veterans close to their families again.  It could provide something to bond over as they breed the birds, get them ready for races, and watch them fly.  Instead of thinking about the buddies who are still involved in war or those who were killed, the pigeons can give them another purpose.

As much as dogs or horses are not for everyone, Mitch is quick to add that pigeons may not be for everyone.  But, through the jungles of medical and mental problems he has walked, without question, the pigeons work for him and he believes that there could be other veterans who could benefit from their peace as he has benefited.

Mitch has offered to help any interested veteran get started by giving them some of his own pigeons.  In any capacity he can help get them going, Mitch is more than ready to do so.

It was an honor to meet Mitch Gibson and I can’t say thank you enough to him for his service to our country.   There may be countless other veterans and their families who might benefit from becoming involved with pigeons.  In our club alone there are five veterans from the Army, Navy, and the Marines.  Veterans are also in the ranks of clubs across the United States.  Reaching out to other veterans in the community is a first step in giving back to these men and women who have served us so selflessly.  If any of you have experience in this type of outreach, or have experienced the healing power of the pigeon, please contact me and share your experiences.  The homing pigeon has a history of helping the military from ancient times through WWI and WWII.  Though the homing pigeon has been used in war, it is a bird of peace, now capable of helping the military on another front.  Our goal is to offer a combination of the power of the pigeon with outreach so we can help make the dream of healing a reality.   Our American Veterans have given so much for us; please join us and our pigeons in our efforts to give back to them. 

PIGEONS IN MILITARY

by Jim Greelis, AU Historian

In ancient times pigeons were the fastest way to send messages.  There are writings that report that the Persian King Cyrus used birds to send information, and the Greeks used homing pigeons to send news of Olympic victories. During the eighth century in France, only the nobles had homing pigeons and the birds were considered a symbol of power and prestige, until the French revolution changed things so that the common man could have them. Even Julius Caesar used homing pigeons to carry messages of importance.

In 1870 the Franco-Prussian war broke out and Paris was surrounded and cut off. The people in Paris figured out they could use hot air balloons to carry baskets of homing pigeons and other letters out of the city and the friendly French in the countryside could send messages back into Paris via the homing pigeons. This allowed the trapped people of Paris to communicate and maintain their hope and morale during the war. It was about this time that microphotography was developed in England, but used to great effect in this war to exchange many military instructions quickly via homing pigeon. The microphotography allowed a single pigeon to carry as many as 30,000 messages! The four month siege of Paris saw 400 birds deliver nearly 115,000 government messages and about a million private messages according to historians.

By 1914 when the war to end all wars (WWI) broke out the European armies were widely using homing pigeons in their war communications.  United States General John Pershing saw the birds in use and ordered the Army Signal Corp to begin putting together their own pigeon communication system. It is believed that over half a million birds were used by the warring armies as reliable communication.  These special birds had a 95 percent success rate in WWI delivering their messages and proved to be a lifeline for the troops on the front line. Remember this war was before modern radio and the telegraph was the other more-modern option for communicating.  But this wire based system was easily cut in two or tapped into by enemy forces if given the chance. The homing pigeons were used by others like aircraft pilots on reconnaissance missions, sailors off the  coast, and even tanks on the move. WWI was the height of homing pigeon use for military purposes. There were many pigeon heroes and several of these war birds received medals.

One of the most famous WWI pigeon stories to be told is that of the “lost battalion” in France that was saved by a pigeon named Cher Ami. This 600 man battalion was being shelled and wounded by friendly fire because they advanced too far into enemy territory. Their only hope of communication was by bird and Cher Ami gave it his all.  The German soldiers saw the bird take flight and began firing upon the bird wounding it but not enough to take away its will to fly the 25 miles back to the command post.  It arrived with one eye shot out, a bullet in its breast and most of the leg missing that had the message capsule still attached – hanging on only by a tendon. The message stopped the shelling and the battalion was later saved. After healing, Cher Ami went on to receive an honorary service cross and taken back to America and lived until 1919. Later he was mounted and then placed on display in the Smithsonian Institute.

When WWII broke out in the early 40’s the homing pigeon was brought back into service on both sides of the war. Many people do not realize that the head of the SS, Hemlic Hemmler, was also head of the national pigeon organization at one time and felt that the Nazis would benefit by taking over the national pigeon organization and the use of its members and birds. The Germans had 50,000 birds ready for use when the war had broken out. Unfortunately for America, the US Army Signal Corp did not maintain its pigeon program and had to rebuild it from scratch. The Corp solicited birds from fanciers that were willing to donate them, and looked for new draftees that had a poultry or pigeon background to work as pigeoneers.  

Although the radio was developed at this time to carry voice, whereas Morse code was used in WWI, the homing pigeon was sometimes an excellent choice for communicating while maintaining radio silence. As one might expect, radio direction finders were used by both sides to locate and take out each other’s forces. The homing pigeon was also found to be a capable airborne means flying a camera over enemy locations to learn more about troop strength and location. A camera was mounted underneath the pigeon behind enemy lines and allowed to fly home where the camera was examined. These photos might show actual troops and equipment or, if flying over a German town, might show certain type factories or other military targets for bombing.

Spies on both sides used pigeons to carry information and sometimes the birds were asked to fly the English Channel between Great Britain and France. The English and the Germans developed their own falcon program to intercept birds but they were just as likely to intercept one of their birds and stop the intended communication from ever arriving.

WWII came to an end and in 1956 the US Army shut down the Pigeon Corp. The service of the homing pigeon went dormant until the 1970’s when the US Coast Guard started using them again but in a different way. During the 1940’s pigeons in a Tufts University lab had proven the exceptional ability to pick out certain shapes and colors in exchange for food. The US Coast Guard decided the same abilities could be useful while searching for men and equipment in open waters so they set up some testing using a small observation bubble on the bottom of some their helicopters stationed near San Francisco. This project called Project Sea Hunt used three pigeons that faced 120 degrees from each other so that they covered the entire 360 degrees under the helicopter. The pigeons were 92 percent reliable in finding the test subjects or objects where humans were found to be in the 30-40 percent range. The project never got out of the testing phase and was ended in 1983 due to federal budget cuts so the birds did not get a chance to actually save any lives.

(Excerpts taken from the History Channels production called Animals in Action, and Jerome Pratt’s book titled Courageous Couriers.)

VETS ASSIST VETS

PIGEON AUCTION FOR FISHER HOUSE

A THANK YOU from the organizers ~ 

       Fisher House provides free or low cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers.
       A Fisher House is "a home away from home" for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The homes are normally located within walking distance of the treatment facility or have transportation available. There are 56 Fisher Houses located on 22 military installations and 20 VA medical centers. Many more houses are under construction or in design.

The Fisher House Auction was held at the Perth Amboy Racing Pigeon Club on the 27th of November 2011, and it was a HUGE SUCCESS. This was achieved because of an outpouring from the fraternity of the CU, IF, and AU Members, as well as, the Belgian & Dutch Pigeon Fanciers, thereby making this truly an International event. The pigeons that were donated,to say the least, were some of the best I have ever seen in one room; the excellent quality of these pigeons was evident by the high prices attained in the auction. The Co-Chairmen of this event were Eric J. Gioiosa and Stanley Krawiec, both Veterans and the driving force behind this auction/fund raiser for Fisher House.

We had a Super Event Team consisting of Bill Desmarais & his wife Paula, Lynne Earring, Henk Kuylaars, Big Andy Larenzatkis, Val Matteucci, Bill Mitiu, John Panek, Joey Perino, Edie Raia, Fred Smeltzer, and two of the Tyson Corner celebrities—Big Joe (Green) Swint & Vinnie (COACH) Torre, that made this event a great success. The Perth Amboy Club generously donated the use of their great clubhouse, in addition to a DOOR PRIZE of a bond for the PAOpen Futurity Race.

Additional generous prize donations included: bags of feed from Baden Feed in Canada, Vinnie Torre of Hoboken NJ, and Mike Bonomo of Staten Island. Also, Top SHELF Premium Wine from the Noble Brothers of California, a custom-made carrier from Mike Brazil of San Luis Obispo, CA, Chocolate Covered Delicacies from Kenny Larrey of Fresno, CA, and Pigeon Watches from Bill Desmarais & his wife Paula. The Desmarais’s also donated and hand-delivered the BIGGEST Live Lobsters you ever saw. Thank you ALL!

A very moving moment was when Bill Desmarais, AU Veterans Affairs Chairman, Vietnam Vet (Nov ‘68–Dec ‘69), Sergeant US MC presented Walter Lesnak (King Lou) 94 Years young, a watch & Fisher House Hero’s Medal in our little tribute to this veteran. He is a true HERO and was awarded in COMBAT the Silver Star, 3 Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart.  Upon him receiving the medal, the standing room only crowd broke into a thunderous applause.

Thanks to all that attended, thanks to the in-house buyers, and also to the on-line bidders on I-Pigeon. 

Eric J. Gioiosa, Linda W. Weiss (Medical Center Director of Albany Stratton VA Medical Center, Albany NY), Stanley Krawiec, Jerry A. Jensen (Manager of Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher House, Albany, NY) presented the check.

In closing, we would also like to give a BIG THANK YOU to Susan Lombard of Daybreak Design, Gene Yoes of the Racing Pigeon Digest, the American Racing Pigeon Union, International Federation of Homing Pigeon Fanciers, 

I-Pigeon and Anthony Sorrentino for their generosity in making this event such an overwhelming success to the tune of a contribution of $24,148.50 to the Fisher House of Albany, NY.

Thank you,

Stanley Krawiec & Eric J. Gioiosa

FOR OUR VETERANS

VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE & PIGEON CARRIER

AU member, Chuck Myles, gave us this wonderful look into the past.  He shared information and photographs of a vintage motorcycle + pigeon carrier used in World War I.  An article published in the American Iron Magazine in December 2005 provided background on this historically significant machine.

This 1917 Harley Davidson with pigeon carrier is reported to be the only one in existence, and housed at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

According to the museum, vintage bikes housed there are started and driven daily.  This one is no exception.

Apparently Steve McQueen, at one time, obtained the bike from one of the movie studios.  The gentlemen that owned the bike had all the documentation, including McQueen's auction paperwork.

The left side of the tank was the original 1917 olive drab military paint and decal work.  The right side of the tank was repainted and marked with what appears to be WWII detail.  It is supposed that the marking allowed for "double duty" of the bike in WWI and WWII movies, depending on which side of the bike faced the cameras.  The bike had a few brackets that were at first unidentifiable.  A few years later at a motorcycle meet, it was discovered that a rare messenger pigeon carrier was available.  It is the only Cygnet (Cygnet Car Carrier Company) pigeon carrier known to exist.  When matched up with the motorcycle, they were found to be a perfect match.  It seems the bike and carrier were actually a unit that had become separated over time.

For pigeon fanciers and wartime history buffs, this is a must see if you are ever in that area of North Carolina.  www.wheelsthroughtime.com

FESTIVALS FEATURING HOMING PIGEONS

Join us at the upcoming festivals to learn more about racing homing pigeons.


May 14, 2011 1-4pm
Family Fest
Hardin County Fairgrounds
301 11th Avenue, Eldora, IA 50627
     The event is open to families everywhere who use or are interested in Hardin County family resources.  There will be no charge for admission and all families will receive a free resource guide.
     Many family-friendly activities and performances have already been scheduled including information on racing pigeons, Llama petting, a bicycle rodeo, musical performances and environmental education.


May 15, 2011 10-4
Homing Pigeon Expo and Family Fun Day
Vernon County Fairgrounds
Centennial Blvd, Nevada, MO 64772
Pigeon Show in Poultry Building
All other activities in Home Economics Building
     Enjoy the pigeon show, auction, food and fun!  Bring the family to have fun and learn about homing pigeons.  Hear the history of the homing pigeon during wartime.  Kids, have fun on the jumping gym and horseshoe tossing.  Learn about the upcoming 2012 Breast Cancer Relief Race.
     There's no admission fee.
     View the awesome sight of 200 birds in a spectacular release.  Drawings and prizes throughout the day.  Midwest Racing Pigeon Club and Sac-Osage Club will share information about the care of the birds.  AU's Veterans Affairs Chairman, Bill Desmarais will share important historical information about homing pigeons serving alongside their Pigeoneers during wartime.  National representative Deone Roberts will be on hand to share membership information.


Join us!

TRIBUTE TO VETERANS

Another slideshow design by Smilebox

TRIBUTE TO MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS

Featured in the 

TAUNTON DAILY GAZETTE

Taunton Area Vietnam Veteran’s Association stresses importance of finding missing service members

By MARC LAROCQUE

Staff Writer

Posted Mar 27, 2011 @ 11:19 PM

Taunton Gazette photo by Mike Gay

Taunton — They won’t stop until every soldier is accounted for.

The Taunton Area Vietnam Veteran’s Association held its 29th annual POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Church Green Sunday at noon. Nearly 100 veterans, politicians, students and community residents paid tribute to those who served in Vietnam and most notably those who never came back.


Bob Silvia, the president of the Vietnam veterans group, gave opening remarks and stressed how crucial it is for the government to fund the recovery and return of missing service members.


“Our MIAs are scattered all over southeast Asia, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and even off the coast of China,” Silvia said. “They are waiting to be found and it is up to us to make sure that our government continues to fund research teams each year to look for and recover the remains of our POWs.”


The group said there are 39 Prisoners Of War and Missing In Action soldiers from Massachusetts, and a total of 1,699 missing service members in southeast Asia.


Taunton Area Vietnam Veterans Association Chaplain Chip Metzger delivered a prayer for the Prisoners Of War and the Missing In Action.


“Father, known to you are the whereabouts of our brothers, who have been waiting so long to be returned home,” Metzger said. “We ask thee Father thy blessings to be upon the leaders of this great nation that they do all in their power to bring them back home to the land that they served with honor, the land of their birth.”


After several speeches, poems and the ceremonial releasing of doves and homing pigeons, members of the crowd took symbolic dog tags with the names of the missing, read out the names and hung up the tags together on a post.


Bill Desmarais, of the Marine Corps League and on behalf of the American Racing Pigeon Union, explained the meaning behind the doves and homing pigeons.


“We will send to the heavens the Marine Corps League’s doves of peace, representing what every veteran has fought for: Peace,” Desmarais said. “The doves of peace will be joined on their heavenward journey by squads of multi-colored homing pigeons representative of the many races and cultures that have served and sacrificed for freedom.”


Desmarais added that the homing pigeons were significant because they were used by U.S. forces during combat throughout the years, helping to save the lives of civilians and military personnel.


Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley said he was very proud of the annual POW/MIA Remembrance Day and the city’s history of honoring Vietnam veterans.


“Here in Taunton we dare to be different,” Crowley said. “We’ve always been in strong support of our veterans throughout the generations, especially here during the 1960s when it was at the time a very unpopular war.”


Crowley recounted how the Vietnam Memorial in Taunton was dedicated on Oct. 20, 1968, when 2,000 residents got together on the Church Green for the unveiling of the memorial tablet.


“(More than) 2,000 citizens joined here amid a light rain to pay tribute and dedicate this tablet,” Crowley said.


He said the ceremony was attended by the parents of William Murphy, the very first soldier who died in the Vietnam War.


Speeches were also made by state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton; state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton; U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.; and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Newton.


Jane Van Gyzen, a Gold Star Mother and stepmother of Lance Corporal John Van Gyzen IV who died in Iraq in 2004, read a poem called “Remember Me.”


“‘Remember me with smiles and laughter for that is how I will remember you,’” said Van Gyzen, who was recently made an honorary veteran of the Taunton Area Vietnam Veterans Association. “‘If you only remember me with tears and sorrow then don’t remember me at all.’ Our brave soldiers will be remembered for their love of life and their love for their country.”


Dennis Proulx, vice president of the Taunton Area Vietnam Veterans Association, updated the crowd on the latest information on the cause of MIAs and POWs.


Proulx said of the 1,699 missing, there are 477 in South Vietnam, 824 in North Vietnam, 332 in Laos, 59 in Cambodia and seven off the coast of mainland China.


Proulx said although the event focuses on the lost from U.S. operations in Vietnam, the group also remembers the missing from previous wars.


“There are 8,005 still missing from the Korean War,” he said. “And there are 74,064 missing from World War II. That’s a lot of servicemen.”


Proulx said those interested in the cause to recover the missing can find more information at the military website, www.jpac.pacom.mil.
Contact Marc Larocque at mlarocqu@tauntongazette.com

Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/archive/x1315031819/Taunton-Area-Vietnam-Veteran-s-Association-stresses-importance-of-finding-missing-service-members#ixzz1HuCwff24

BUBBA WILSON'S TALE

as shown on KNWA Northwest Arkansas News (video)

"It's thoroughbreds of the is what it is," Wilson says. "Basically, race your birds from a release point to your loft and whoever can fly it the fastest wins."

Bubba has been racing pigeons for over a decade.  These birds can find their way home from hundreds of miles away.  They use magnetic fields, photographic memories and an incredible sense of smell.

But, Bubba doesn't just race his birds, he raises them from the time they hatch. He says these birds have helped him deal with post traumatic stress disorder from fighting for this country.

"It keeps me occupied so flashbacks don't come," Wilson says.  "I can truthfully say that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my birds."

Bubba loves his birds and his birds definitely love him back.

THE TRANQUILITY OF PIGEON KEEPING

With the debut of the new Animal Planet show featuring the calming effect of pigeons, we at the American Racing Pigeon Union are reaffirmed in our belief that we have been sharing for many years – that the people who keep pigeons experience a calming respite when they go to their lofts to care for their pigeons.

The effect has proven beneficial to physically challenged and learning challenged youth.  That translates well to the calming effect on individuals who suffer from the post trauma effect of military combat.

One of the most exciting rewards in racing Homing Pigeons is that of “crossing the finish line first,” but the underlying gratification of pigeon keeping is the calming, settling connection with nature. 

To find out if the hobby suits you, the American Racing Pigeon Union has a helpful information packet that is free.