How a Wounded Pigeon Named Cher Ami Saved the Lost Battalion in WWI

Military.com ^ | February 09, 2026 at 3:00am ET | Allen Frazier

[E. Pluribus Unum]

On the afternoon of Oct. 4, 1918, American artillery hit a ravine in France's Argonne Forest. The rounds were falling directly on roughly 500 U.S. soldiers that had been trapped behind enemy lines for two days. Maj. Charles Whittlesey, a New York lawyer commanding the surrounded force, had one way left to stop the bombardment. His life and the lives of his men now rested on a lone carrier pigeon.

That bird, a black check homing pigeon named Cher Ami, flew 25 miles through gunfire with a message attached to his wounded leg. The flight helped save hundreds of American soldiers and made Cher Ami one of the most recognized animals in U.S. military history.

Trapped in the Argonne

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest American military operation of World War I. Launched Sept. 26, 1918, it sent more than a million U.S. troops against fortified German defenses in northeastern France. 

The 77th Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Metropolitans," filled its ranks from New York City draftees. Chinese, Polish, Italian, Irish, Greek, Russian, German and Jewish Americans joined the unit, many of them immigrants or first-generation citizens from Manhattan's Lower East Side.

On Oct. 2, Whittlesey led elements of the 308th Infantry Regiment into the dense Argonne Forest alongside Capt. George McMurtry's 2nd Battalion. McMurtry was a veteran of the Spanish-American War who had ridden with Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Both officers had reservations about the attack. 

Before stepping off, Whittlesey told his regimental commander, "All right, I'll attack, but whether you'll hear from me again, I don't know."

They became known as the "Lost Battalion."

Capt. Nelson Holderman reached the pocket that morning with Company K of the 307th Infantry, adding his men to the surrounded force. German snipers, machine guns, grenades, trench mortars and flamethrowers hit the American position from....

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[Srednik]

Srednik “met” Cher Ami one day in the Pentagon. He was part of a display of US Army Signal Corps memorabilia. Expressed thanks for his role in saving the “Lost Battalion.”

[dayglored]

Great story, great bird. Thanks for posting.

[CopperTop]

These stories are great to read. Very interesting. d:^)