On November 4, 1946, the hero who saved the lives of the inhabitants of the Italian town of Calvi Vecchia and of the British troops of the 56th Infantry Division received the Dickin Medal for Gallantry. The medal ceremony was held in the Tower of London.
“Click, click, click,” went the shutter buttons on cameras as newspaper reporters snapped photographs of Major-General Keinsley hanging the medal on the hero’s puffed out chest. The hero blinked as the flashes went off. He stood straight and tall just like a soldier should.
Did the hero snap a salute in return to the Major-General when he was awarded the medal? No, that would have been impossible, because our fine feathered friend didn’t have any arms. He only had wings which he kept calmly down by his sides.
You see, the hero was a homing pigeon by the name of G.I. Joe. The Dickin Medal for Gallantry was awarded only to animals who performed some outstanding deed in the military.
G.I. Joe was born in Algiers, Africa, in 1943 and shipped to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey for training in the United States Pigeon Service. Only the best and strongest birds were selected for this honor. The pigeon passed the training with flying colors and was sent back to Europe to see action in the war.
Flying the Urgent Message
On October 18, 1943, British troops were besieging the town of Calvi Vecchia. German troops were defending the city. The fighting was fierce, but then the Germans unexpectedly retreated out of the city. The British troops were able to move in quickly and take over the fortified positions. Once they were in control, the British troops did not want to withdraw and give the Germans the chance to come back. But they had a real problem. A squadron of American bombers was due to drop tons of bombs and high explosives on the city in half an hour. The Air Force was going to rain down terror and destruction from the sky on the German defenders. The U.S. Air Force had no way of knowing the British had taken the city and thought it was still occupied by the Germans.
Unfortunately, the radio belonging to the British troops had been smashed in the attack. If those planes bombed the city, they would be killing troops on their own side.
However, the well-prepared British troops had a backup plan for communicating with headquarters. One of the soldiers carried a small wicker basket with a homing pigeon in it. An officer took a small piece of paper and wrote a short note on it. The message was rolled up and put into a tiny cylinder which was attached to the right leg of G.I. Joe.
The bird was then tossed into the air. It flapped its wings and was off in a flash. It flew straight and true. Homing Pigeons fly very high and fast so they are hard for opposing armies to stop. It covered the 20 miles to the airport in 20 minutes. It flew right to the pigeon coop near allied headquarters as it had been trained. An officer there quickly found the message and read it. He rushed it to the commanding officer. The commanding officer ordered the bombing mission to be cancelled.
The message had gotten there in the nick of time. The planes were on the runway with their bombs loaded and their engines revved up for takeoff.
Because of G.I. Joe’s valiant flight, it is very likely that hundreds, maybe even a thousand, lives had been saved that day.
A Vital Message
G.I. Joe carried an important message that saved many lives. Do you know that God has an important message He wants delivered to every person in the world?
This message is called the gospel, or “good news.” It shows how God can save people. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Every person in the world needs to hear the good news of God’s grace. It is the only way they may be saved from the punishment their sins deserve.
“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3) is the most important message ever delivered to mankind because it is a life-changing message. It has the power to change a sinner into a child of God. Will you believe this message and become a child of God?
The message of the cross is a message of victory. Three days and three nights after the Lord Jesus was buried in a grave, He arose from the dead. The Lord Jesus is very much alive today. He is seated at the right hand of His Father. Since He is alive, all sinners may come to Him by faith and put their hope in Him.
Death, destruction and hell are ahead for all those who remain in their sins. But death will never defeat those who believe in Christ, for they too will arise from the grave. In glorified bodies they will live with Him forever in heaven.
The message of God’s grace truly is good news. The town of Calvi Vecchi was saved from destruction by G.I. Joe, the homing pigeon. Will the message of God’s grace get through to your heart in time for you to be saved?
The Cat Colony of Ediz Hook describes more of God’s goodness to those who desperately need it.