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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1954)
PACK TWO HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON MONDAY. MAY X ',054 Pigeon Enthusiasts Point To Bird's Importance In National Defense Picture (Edltor'i Kola The following elory Is reprinted by permission of the author, and was suggested for use In the Herald and News by members of the local racing pigeon club. Spring training races are be ing readied by members and a picture-story of local activities will be carried in this paper shortly. DOORS OPEN 6:90 YJM 'Action, THIUS I I .,' r ':.- wMiMSG I WCsit. V0 WDSSMULLER 'Color Cartoon News Adults S - KiddlM 20c LAST TIME TODAY! inn ' jos IWW3KTH KRRER IV L'mmmMMjg?1 Iff TOMORROW! k. iw Mrs mm C3 1 SHOUTS clyl CARTOON KtooiESi DOORS OPEN 6:30 P.M. NOW PLAYING! truly great adventure r, C3 ami IICHJISD WIOMKKK - BEIU OARVI Mk ncrca rewcu um anuui cat dm Mva mtw pHORTS-CAWTOON-NEW Adults 75e . Kiddies 25c DOORS OPEN 6:30 P.M. rf.Fi NOW' 1 AMOTION PICTURE SPECTACLE AS HQ AS ' ALL AMERICA! tEMMlSlOI'JOII LESLIE FOMfJTIUCIH.JOHl RUSSELL MIIIDKnOINIt'NIU Adults SOt . KMi 80, Br DAVE Bl'SCALL Silver SprlBia. Md. In the columns of the Bulletin of February, 36, 161 appeara an eu logy written by Harry C. Burke of Washington, D C., on we achieve ments of my friend and confident, the late Billy Dutmer. In the article Mr. Burke says Billy Dlsmer. In my estimation, was one of the finest assets the sport ever had." No truer words could have been written and I can say that in all sincerity, because they are the very sentiments I expressed when Biuy was auve. But further on In the same ar ticle, Mr, Burke says In substance that Billy Dlsmer was responsible for starting the Pigeon Service In the United Stales Army. tms, now. ever, is so far from the facts that were Billy alive today he would be one of the first to indignantly deny it. Bill Dismer's work for the sport needs no overstatements, no pad ding, nor any variation from the truth. What he did is good enough and could well be used as an ex ample to others to strive and copy after. But even his work for the fancy, great as it was, was over shadowed by the sunlight of his character, for in all his dealings he was the soul of honor and the apostle of fairplay. HISTORICAL FACTS How "pigeons" became an Instru ment of National Defense will be found in the columns of the pigeon journals at the time this event oc curred. However, time clouds is sues and sometimes historical facts are twisted by careless writers. Pigeons, as an instrument of na tlonal defense are a mighty inv portant angle In the sport today. So much in the way of benefits stem from this event. In fact it has been the means of saving our sport In several instances. The information of bow pigeons became a part of the American Army should be kept straight and that can best be done by those having first hand information on the subject. Otherwise, as time goes on the truth would be bent by uninformed writers whose mis takes might even change the his tory in the minds of some who did not know the facts. I propose. therefore to review the Incidents which led to the adoption of pi geons by the American Army. More than a year before the Unit ed States became embroiled in war with Germany, namely in 1S1C, the writer accompanied by Cyrus S. Wicker of our State Department, visited General Scriven, who was Chief Signal Officer of the Army at that time. We urged that the Signal Corps adopt pigeons as an auxiliary means of communication In warfare. EXPERIMENTAL LOFT General Scriven thought so well of the plan be Issued orders for an experimental loft to be estab lished at Columbus, New Mexico and designated me to aid la carry ing out these orders. The loft was established at Co lumbus and the birds were used by General Pershing's Punitive Ex peditionary Forces then operating on the Mexican border. The full account of this undertaking, togeth er wiin ouiciai pnotograpn of loft appeared in the columns of the A.R.P. News in 1916. should there be anv doubt re garding priority in anybody's mind. let me quote an excerpt from Mr. Dismer's own column in the News" which can be found on Page of the February, ln is sue. Here it is: "Another Jewel has been added figuratively sneaking, to the crown of our worthy AU Fin. Secretary. o. c. Buscau. A report from New Mexico military loft, which was originated by nun, for which be drew plans, wrote out instructions. solicited birds, and which he shipped to the border, shows that the birds did more than was ex. pected." PERSHING REQUEST In August, 1817 after we had en tered World War I, General Persh ing sent from France a reouest that an American Pigeon Service be organized Immediately and the General's request, supplemented by an oroer irom tne General staff. was sent to the Personnel Section of the Signal Corps for compliance. It so happened that a Major Black, who a year before was the commanding officer at Columbus when I furnished the pigeons, was on duty in tne personnel Office and the order to secure a compe tent ouicer to organise the new service was dumped in his lao. He, of course, remembered the in cident at Columbus but had forgot ten my name. He did however know that I waa secretary of the Union at the time and so easily established contact. Less than six weeks later I was on my way to Franco as commanding officer of the new service. Later, along the battle fronts In France, lofts manned by Ameri can plgeoneers and stocked with American homing pigeons, did mors than waa required of them. When telephone lines and radio could not be used our birds car ried on under heart-breaking con anions. Although many ware wounded by bursting shrapnel, they uvea up to the Signal Corps slogan and got the message through. Alter tne Armistice. I waa or dered to prepare a history of the service and detailed Captain John L. carney to do this work. No man in the American Army waa better fitted for thia duty than Carnav. Not only waa he an accredited newspaper man, but a free lance writer or national repute, in ad dition he had served as my front line officer with too birds under varied conditions. ARMY APPROVAL When the story was completed I took the manuscript over to Gen eral Headquarters for approval of the Army Censor. On my way I stopped to see Oenersl Olbbi, as sistant cmet signal Officer and my immediate doss. m was very busy and grouchy, asking me, some- vy''"' , flW1fT.'J5f.TO; ...,, ,v ,,.t ... ; -- - -i i ,. j, . .1 I niii'i'i ...-I," . - v i.VU ' - "., l -, ft Vi l - ' y - ; -i - i ',, ? .1 i A, 1 3 v i 4 ,.; - - - Jjjf fc' ' " " " " ' " " ' 1 " ' 1 ' 'Lj PIGEONS AT WAR have proven to be an almost invaluable asset to our armed forces in the carrying of messages. Hero (Dan army pigeon if shown being rigged with the capsule used in carrying messages, maps, photos and other informa tion. This heavy rig it used only on short flights. (2) One of the heroes of the last war was "Yank," the bird that carried what abruptly, what I wanted. When I told him I had the pigeon data, for censorship, he said "Let me see it." Then I waited and I waited, while the General read. word lor word of the 11.000 word story without once looking up. As he handed back the manuscript he said, "Fine, Buscall. your Carney is some writer." Boys, that was Our Jsck," gone but never for gotten. Let's turn back the pages of history and listen again to one of Jack's thrilling paragraphs cov ering the Argonne holocaust: 'When lines of metal, taut and durable as man could fashion them and the scientific achievements of a lifetime withered to nothingness in the rain of steel and rending force oi ugh explosives, then did the racing pigeon come into bis own. Furrowed, bloodclotted lines often streaked the festhered bod ies; st times a leg gone and not infrequently a sharpshooter's steel jacketed bullet found Its msrk, yet stout of heart, the little couriers sped on on to their goal and re- liei." WORLD WAR II USE During the Second World War, which covered so many parts of tne globe, pigeons were used ex tensively and according to the Slg- the first message of retailing of Cafsa by American troops. He flew from Cafsa to Tebesia, 98 miles, in an hour and fifty two minutes. 131 Even the tank corps use pigeons in their work. This picture shows a tank commander releasing o bird during maneuvers at the army's desert training station. U.S. Army Photos nal Corps, effectively on all fronts. I can however speak with some authority on the brilliant record they achieved in- Italy from the f 18th of November 1943 to the 7th of May. 1944. It so hsppened that my son, Captain David C. Bus- call Jr., was in command of the 6681st Signal Pigeon Company which furnished the service. If there hsve been st sny time a doubt as to the value of pigeons in wartime, the record established in Italy in World War n between the periods shown above, it would be dispelled by the record of achievements in the Italian theater of operations. Unfortunately, the complete re port of this particular phase of our birds' work, sent in st the time wsr was on, never reached head quarters and It was not until a long time afterwards that this was discovered. Fortunately, however, my son, like his old man, care fully preserved his records and at the request of General Lawton, pre pared a most comprehensive re port now a part of the War De partment records, MESSAGES The great number of messages carried by birds of this unit over 5,000 in a period lens than 4' months, with no record of any hav ing been lost, testify to the value of pigeons. A monograph prepared by the Signal Corps detailing the work of pigeons, their value to the Govern ment as a guide for local officials when ordinance troubles threaten pigeon flyer, is most revealing as well as a tribute to the race bird. Here it is: "The Signal Corps is proud of the miracles of communications and electronics that rise from the test tubes and drafting boards of its laboratories, but there are times when radio alienee is required so New Radio Show Described As Best Yet For Realism HOLLYWOOD (1'( The new Night Welch radio allow lops Uruguet lur reultam in Ihe ropa-and-crimlual department. It'n the genuine thliw. Llslcncia to Night Watch on CB'J Munduy nighla will hear the autunl nabbing of a criminal, The record. Ing was mud during ail nrrt by the Culver City, Calif., police, Columbia's answer lu Jauk Webb la an enterprising young mini named Dunn Heed. A radio vet eran, he dreamed up Night Walult in an ellort to find aomelhuig new In radio. "I remember one day I camo out of a radio coufcrem-a feeling very-depioaned," he told me. "I sulci to another fellow that I w.ta tired 'of reliaililiig the same old tilings In radio. If only there w,ta something new. "That day I went over lo Ihe place where I play handball. An other peiton who playa lliere la Run Perkins, a sergeant with Hie Culver Clly police. He had his uni form on, and I asked lilm wh.it ho hart been doing lately. He Inld me about aome oi hla cures, ami they sounded fascinating. He In vitrei me to cume along Willi him tome night," Reed wont In the prowl car ono night and found a wealth of ma terial. Perkm-i talked lo Chlf W. N. lllldebranrtr of Ihe Culver Cliv police about allnwlug Herd to record some rasea. Permission waa granted, and tile project got undur witv. "Our first problem was Ihe re. cording equipment," reported Rcvd. "To gel really prolrsslonnl qunNiy meruit using about l.Ouo pounds of gear. Obviously that was iniprucllcul, since much of Hie turn I hud to race after police lo gel my recording. "We finally worked It down lo a that the enemy does not know of the pretence of American troops, there are times when mschlnea fall, there are times when wires cannot be strung, when radios can not be installed as quickly as troops move forward. Then Signal Corps falls bsck on the faithful pigeon and asks him to serve in a role he has held for thousands of years." I have written at aome length on this subject of Army pigeons, because I realize Its Importance to the sport and for further reason I am able to give so much first hand information. I hope pigeon flyers may derive some good from the information. iMIhktuna' Mlnll.fl Uav at 4:10 P. M. SAN rHANCISCO . 3 hrs. LOS ANOIUS . J', hrs. Nwttikrand Malnlln.n Itave at MO A. M. PORTLAND . . J', hrs, SPOKANI .... hrs. ma mi .... j ,.. I I, ImwImi NlfN H "alt Ma !" fat Ireref infamafta, call 1 vril. U'ffi. AlrpKl Terminal. Coll J 1JJ7 at raw travel aeal. ' laraf Nataa eual'. UNITED selMnclualve unit tit weighs only 16 pounds, That mam i me mum mute maiieuveruble. wa. carry en euulneer wllh u, but he aluya In the cai. It wuiiiuu i do ri.in :o aag him Id nccomimny ui. Reed referred tu the danger, U can be ctinaldeiuble. oncu lie was In close pioxiiiilly when a holdup man was apprehended, The hood reached lor hla gun, and nerd lilt the deck. He tuved hlmaell from danger, but he still waa angry. Thti fall damaged Ihe recording equip ment and ruined hla report on Ilia crime. On another occaatun, the police picked up a dope addict who etui lowed (lie aourco ol aupply, Thin led to tliv undercover Interview wllh a dope piiaher whose devious method of axllum the alulf wis recorded on tape. Gliddtn PAINT FESTIVAL Uw U ProfrtM ncraoi Ot 104 A QUAIf . .M uni weaaat w.u nun 5F3ED 5 ATI II Paint ytir II. Caj.Ul. CeMwOfst MW.UtJM't! CuUa MttMl WBAsWbUI ,. Ml 1JH 155 'est. ' .on mi run tan i uasm SPilED GLOSS l.tt-ttvoptr. For tallrMaW, bMhfOOdU, 1 1 woodwork Cat sMtck lATIN, uyiii IC4S till ft, l. SAVE U.00 H..33itt1. JAPMAC (Mm.ayaMa Oalyl Java staatr aaw 4tc Maasat. mt ism war. Haa. a r, mt LaMkht, ve.ni mI waakts uka SaaaS mumL 14 I All Gll.il ROCK.IPAR VARNISH BMP MM cu H Nnloff 9rit,mxBphm (mm Hi) lot P(ll lid lor 14. A iastwdt Cat wl'V FYOCK'S 1001 Mala Ph. 1-2S1I 9 Cli l Wain W Klamath 'alb CLOSED MONDAYS Ben B. Leo, Mgr. During EMU'S TUESDAY SURPRISE! Schilling! Coffee Clorox Bleach ib. Holiday Vt gl. Margarine All Brandt MILK 2 r. Ib. Tlaa.'a CaaiL BitO lilt I UIIQ IlillNo Giant Siia TIDE No. Vi tin Pkg. f Standby Dfaaaaiaaaniaaai jar Florida Oranges Swtft, lulcy 3 Ibi. Beef Roasts )b. 1 A Ground Beef L. ! Mil' ' o SUPER MARKET Prices offtcrlvo Tuesday only 9th and PINE No phono colli, PLEASE YESTERDAY S PRICE of t (5)35 (0) For Tune-up 8.35 Clean Motor 3.50 C Lubricate 1.50 X V ! R- Trt" 13.35 VJAS A SMASH HIT! SO see We Are Continuing This . Special to give our customers, who wr turntd away last weak . because we had more than we could do, a chance. jlr No Short Cuts - All Work Guaranteed As Usual! SICK EL iJllLLIlE. Co. 7th and Klamath OLDS-CADILLAC Phone 4103 i i
