World War I Tales: The Pigeon Spy

Stories of the First WorldWar from the bestselling Terry Deary, author of the hugely successful HorribleHistories. Flanders 1918. The extraordinary true story of a pigeon who savednearly 200 lives. A troop of Americans are trapped behind enemy lines. Not onlyare their German enemies firing at them but so are their own side. Somehow theyhave to get a message to their comrades. The only way is by pigeon. But everytime a pigeon rises in the air it is shot down. The last pigeon, a black birdcalled Cher Ami, flies with bullets zipping through the air all around him,covering 25 miles in just 65 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194survivors. In his epic journey he is shot through the breast, blinded in oneeye, and left with a leg hanging only by a tendon. Army medics save his life.They can’t save his leg, so they carve a small wooden one for him. When herecovers, the pigeon is put on a boat to the United States, a hero. Astonishingtrue tale of animals at war from master historical storyteller Terry Deary, for7+.