The carrier pigeon Cher Ami was awarded the Croix de Guerre medal for his services and wounds received while delivering a message from the American Lost Battalion, cut off behind enemy lines during the Battle of Argonne in 1918. He helped save 194 survivors by flying a note in a canister on his left leg that read:
“We are along the road parallel to 276.4.
Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us.
For heaven’s sake, stop it.”
Cher Ami’s message may have been shorter than a tweet, but boy did it have life-saving significance.
Watch the video version of this enFact here.