Throughout history, people have used animals to help them win wars. Horses have carried knights into battle, dogs have guarded campgrounds and alerted troops to enemy activity, and pigeons have delivered messages.
When I worked at the University of Iowa, I met a professor who studied pigeon intelligence. These birds have a brain the size of a pea, but it wouldn’t be smart to underestimate them. During World Wars I and II, they carried notes back and forth across battlefields to places their human partners couldn’t go. With messages coiled into small cartridges attached to their legs or strapped to their, pigeons helped keep the troops informed. They probably saved many lives.
Pigeons have skills that humans do not share. We can’t fly, aren’t very good at finding our way without some kind of map, and we make an awfully big target. Pigeon bodies are small and their brains are even smaller, but they have served us well. Thank you, Pigeons!
Carol Harker
How some bra-wearing pigeons saved thousands of lives during WWII (militarytimes.com); Discover how an American underwear manufacturer partnered with pigeons on behalf of the war effort.