Carrier Pigeon Monument...!

As sad as war can be, it is often even sadder when animals are used as weapons or are placed deliberately in harms way during fighting. Some of the most celebrated of these animals were the famous Carrier Pigeons.

Monument to Carrier Pigeons

This statue honors the thousands of Allied avians that served and died for France during World War I.

In 1936, the Fédération Nationale des Sociétés Colombophiles erected this monument in honor of the 20,000 pigeons who served and died during the Great War. It also commemorates the pigeon fanciers who were executed at the hands of enemy forces for their involvement.

During World War I, the birds swooped through the skies as part of their missions to transmit key intelligence information. Forces on both sides of the war attempted to control these skybound messengers. In German-occupied territories, civilians were ordered to shoot pigeons to reduce the presence of any Allied avians.

One of the most famous French carrier pigeons who served during the Great War was a bird named Valiant. Though he had been badly injured and gassed, he managed to deliver a message from the ill-fated French troops at the Battle of Verdun before later perishing in his dovecot.

Later technological advances eventually rendered the battle-bound birds largely obsolete. However, France’s Nord department still retains its strong pigeon fancier heritage, as professionals and amateurs alike still participate in training the birds.

Like it or not, the truth is that animals have been used for weapons of war for as long as mankind has been fighting amongst ourselves. Sad but true...