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.
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AMOTION
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tEMMlSlOI'JOII LESLIE
FOMfJTIUCIH.JOHl RUSSELL
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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-
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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
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