Subscribe
NORFOLK, Va. – Jan. 5 is National Bird Day, and although the bald eagle is a popular symbol of freedom among the American people, there is a much smaller feathered friend who may just be the true American hero. The pigeon has a history of being a vital force within the Navy.
Pigeons were first used in the military as message carriers in the late 1880s, but were not officially bred and trained for the job until 1891 when Henri Marion, a French professor at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., built an experimental pigeon loft in an academy boathouse. Marion had received the pigeons from the Army after they had failed a similar experiment three years prior.
Marion began conditioning the birds aboard USS Constellation, training them to fly back to their loft from the ship. The distance they were expected to fly slowly increased until they were able to travel up to 150 miles over water.
The noble pigeons were finally able to prove their worth June 7, 1893 when a seaman was killed in an accident when Constellation was 12 miles out from its port in Annapolis. Two birds strapped on identical messages for the academy’s screw tug Standish, and the tug was there within three hours to collect the fallen Sailor.
With their dependability now established, pigeons went on to help deliver messages on a much larger scale. The U.S. Naval Pigeon Messenger Service was established by the Navy in 1896, and the Secretary of the Navy ordered pigeon lofts to be built at Boston Navy Yard, Portsmouth Navy Yard, Naval Station Newport, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Key West, and Mare Island Navy Yard.
Only three years later, the Navy shifted its efforts to radio communications, and by 1902, all new Navy ships were outfitted with wireless telegraph equipment, rendering pigeons useless. Shortly after, the Naval Pigeon Messenger Service was disestablished and all the pigeons were auctioned off.
Their retirement was short-lived though, as the faithful bird made a comeback during World War I. At the time, the Navy implemented a new rate specifically for their pigeon trainers, or Pigeoneers as they were often called. The new rate fell under Quartermaster, deeming them Quartermaster (Pigeon) (QM(P)). QM(P)s attended a specialist’s school for six to 12 months before being shipped out to their first pigeon loft.
Pigeoneers held their rate into World War II, but were renamed as Specialist X SPX(PI) in 1941. Two years later, the rating was made available to Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES).
After the end of World War II, the rating was phased out. Those who stayed in the Navy as a SPX(PI) were moved to the emergency service rating category, and were eventually disestablished completely in 1961.
Through their over 70 years of service to the Navy, pigeons delivered countless messages which aided Sailors in their missions. They may not be America’s symbol of freedom, but they will always be remembered as protectors of it.
| Date Taken: | 01.12.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.26.2023 08:19 |
| Story ID: | 460438 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Pigeons: The Navy’s first aviators, by PO2 Jordan Grimes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
