On December 18, 1943, in a small Italian village called Calvi Vecchia, 194 British soldiers of the 56th Division were trapped in a farmhouse surrounded by German forces. They had been cut off from their own lines for three days and were running out of ammunition, food, and water.
Their only communication with the outside world was a carrier pigeon named GI Joe, who had been assigned to the unit by the US Army Pigeon Service. The pigeon was one-legged, having lost the other in a training accident, but he was fast and he was reliable.
A British corporal tied a message to the pigeon leg: 194 men trapped, coordinates 41.03N 14.21E, running out of ammo, need immediate air support. The pigeon was released at 11:47 AM.
GI Joe flew 20 miles in approximately 20 minutes, arriving at the British command post at 12:07 PM. The message was delivered to the commanding officer, who immediately ordered an air rescue mission. The bombers that had been assigned to drop bombs on the area, not knowing that British troops were still alive inside, were called back.
GI Joe saved 194 lives. He was awarded the Dickin Medal, the highest honor for animal valor in the British Commonwealth. He was the only American-owned pigeon to receive the medal. After the war, he retired to the US Army Pigeon Center in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he lived until 1961.
The Dickin Medal citation reads: For delivering a vital message despite heavy enemy fire and one leg, this pigeon saved hundreds of lives.