From ancient times to the present, the importance of message delivery and news reporting has been established. Whether it is a time of peace or war, human life has always been accompanied by message delivery or news reporting. In ancient times, message delivery was done by foot messengers who would cover a long distance.
Then humans found the help of animals for message delivery, which saved them some time. The invention of the railway system left people amazed for a while: how would essential news reach from city to city when there was no such facility in ancient times, nor was there any related postal system? How would message delivery and war supplies be transported during wartime? In the absence of other modern means of communication such as phones, the internet, telegrams, and other message delivery tools, how would important and urgent contacts be made?
The means of fast message delivery that nature gave to humans first was the railway system, which was much more amazing than modern methods like the invention of the railway system in ancient times. At that time, humans had no power other than animal power. Therefore, the animal that nature made an immediate means of human message delivery was the pigeon. Why only pigeons for message delivery? Pigeons are birds that can fly at high speeds for a long time.
Another feature of pigeons is that wherever they are left, they find their way back to their destination with great skill. Some time ago, an American research institution was given a task: despite the presence of other birds, why was the pigeon chosen for message delivery from ancient times to the present?
The most important point before this committee was: how did the pigeon finally find its way? The committee revealed in its report that nature has a special magnetic power in the pigeon's beak, which guides the pigeon to find its way and then provides guidance to return to its nest.
Another report revealed that nature has created some special gaps in the eyes of some birds that help them find their way. An estimate can well be made that in India, a pigeon courier service has been operating regularly since 1952 and was discontinued in 2002. This service had 800 trained pigeons, which were gifted to India by Britain as a token of appreciation after the Second World War.
According to an incident recorded in the American National Archives, on October 3, 1918, during the First World War, when German and American forces were confronting each other, American soldiers mistakenly opened fire on their own comrades. In reality, the American commander failed to relay the message to his troops because the messenger pigeon carrying the message became a target of German gunfire.
On the morning of October 3, 1918, at three o'clock, the American military commander, with a pigeon named "Cher Ami," attached a written message to its leg, stating, "We are at 4/276 Road, and our own artillery is dropping a barrage on us. For heaven's sake, stop it." In this delicate situation, this pigeon was the last hope for the American infantry.
When America released this pigeon, it became a target for the blind fog of German gunfire along the way. Despite being injured, this pigeon successfully delivered the message to the hands of the American infantry.
As soon as the message was received, the infantry immediately ceased firing on their own comrades, and thus, due to the loyal pigeon's mission, the lives of 200 American soldiers were saved. In recognition of this bravery, the French government honored this pigeon with the "Dickin Medal."