"We Also Serve": Feathered Heroes of the World Wars by Candace West

 

How many of you enjoy watching the British Antiques Roadshow? One of my favorite pastimes is to curl up in my recliner with a snack while the stories unfold. Each object carries me on an adventure.

One episode featured a stuffed pigeon under a glass dome. Sounds a little strange, right? However, this special bird had earned a World War II honor—the Dickin Medal.

My imagination and curiosity sparked. Let’s rewind now to World War I.

At the time, the telephone and telegraph were not reliable sources for relaying messages. Pigeons played an important part in the Allied war effort. These brave birds served in all branches of the service, improving battlefield communications. Flying above the battlelines, they hazarded their lives to save many soldiers.

Pilots launched them mid-air to relay ground conditions to their commanders. Also, they were sent between their lines to coordinate movements. Pigeons were even launched from tanks. They were the perfect shield for soldiers who might otherwise have been killed while relaying messages.

Though enemy snipers targeted them, they continued serving effectively in their missions. Many gave their lives while others suffered severe injuries.  

One of the most famous carrier pigeons of World War I is Cher Ami, whose name means “dear friend.” He served with distinction during the Mesue-Argonne offensive in October 1918. During the battle, German forces surrounded the American 77^th division, cutting them from their supporting units for six days.

The American “Lost Battalion” sustained heavy losses while attempting to send messengers to report their position. The Germans also shot down two of their pigeons. Desperate and almost out of time, they dispatched Cher Ami. They attached a message in a canister on his right leg.

After opening fire on him, the Germans shot down Cher Ami, but the courageous bird took off once more. He successfully delivered the message despite being shot through the breast and blinded in one eye. He also lost his left leg. Yet he survived and was sent back to the United States for retirement.

The hero of the Lost Battalion sadly lived less than a year after his injuries. Visitors can now view him on display at the Smithsonian Institution.

Cher Ami

During World War II, carrier pigeons also bravely served and saved many lives. William of Orange is the most famous of these, whose actions saved over 2,000 Allied soldiers in the Battle of Arnhem. He was awarded the Dickin Medal.

In 1943, the Dickin Medal was designed to recognize courageous animals with the same level of honor as the Victorian Cross. In addition to pigeons, other animals such as dogs, horses, and a cat have earned the award in the years since its creation.

Inscribed on one side are the words, “For Gallantry. We also serve.” Immense heroism is bound up in those poignant words.

Have you ever heard of the Dickin Medal and the carrier pigeons of both world wars?

About Candace West:

A homeschooling mama by day and a historical romance writer whenever she can steal the time, Candace West writes hope-filled, redemptive stories that snag her characters from disaster to victory. In 2018, she published her debut novel Lane Steen. Since then, she has authored the Valley Creek Redemption and Windy Hollow series. She also belongs to The Mosaic Collection of authors. When she isn't crafting her next story, she divides her time between family and three bossy cats.

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Revenge and refuge never go together.

Brielle Doyle cannot escape the bloodstains on her hands, not even in the Ozarks. Resolved to catch a wagon train come spring, she secures a job caring for the ailing, elderly patriarch of the Hoskin family.

But Zeke Hoskin hates outside interference. What kind of woman stares down the barrel of his rifle and still barges into his family and his business? Her meddling will upend his plans to gun down the family who killed his brothers.

At any cost, Zeke will not rest until he has carved their epitaphs, one by one.

Only Brielle stands in his way. Her divided loyalties demand answers Zeke has interred deep within himself. To dredge up old wounds might crumble the barricade around his heart.

Find out more

Sources: The National Archives

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickin_Medal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher_Ami

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Battalion_(World_War_I)

Book Day January 2025

CURL UP WITH A NEW BOOK

 

UNPUZZLING THE PAST

1990s Cozy Mystery

Edited By Mary Davis, Written by Mary L. Chase

When secrets and lies are uncovered, will Mar be able to put the pieces together to learn the truth? A year after her mom’s death, Margaret “Mar” Ross discovers the proverbial skeleton in the closet. Most families have a secret or two. Some are best left in the dark. Others need to be brought into the light of day to heal old wounds. With the help of her best friend, a lawyer, and a handsome doctor, Mar is determined to hunt down all the facts. When she does, will she find what she’s searching for? Or should she let this puzzle R.I.P.?

 

 

SWORD OF FORGIVENESS

By Debbie Lynne Costello

When her father died, she had promised herself no man would own her again, yet who could defy an edict of the king? After the death of her cruel father, Brithwin is determined never again to live under the harsh rule of any man. Independent and resourceful, she longs to be left alone to manage her father’s estate. But she soon discovers a woman has few choices when the king decrees she is to marry Royce, the Lord of Rosencraig. As if the unwelcome marriage isn’t enough, her new husband accuses her of murdering his family, and she is faced with a challenge of either proving her innocence or facing possible execution.

 

 

 

EL JIREH - THE GOD WHO PROVIDES

Compiled by Living Parables of Central Florida

Mary Dodge Allen, contributor

In A Mother’s Desperate Prayer, Mary Dodge Allen shares her struggle with guilt and despair after her son is badly burned in a kitchen accident. When we are at the end of all we have, El Jireh shows His hand. God doesn’t always give us what we want or when we want it, but He perfectly provides all we need at the right time. The stories, poems, devotions, and essays in this collection demonstrate the various and mysterious ways God is El Jireh—the God who provides—to His children.

 

 

 

A SONG OF DELIVERANCE

By Donna Wichelman

Anna Sullivan has no dowry to marry the man she loves. Heartbroken, she flees Ireland to tend Uncle Liam’s house in Colorado. But when Anna arrives, she discovers a mine disaster has killed her uncle. Now, she must gather her faith and courage to establish a life in Georgetown. Only one person stands in her way–the wealthy widower of European nobility who owns the mine and is blamed for the deaths of nine men. Will Anna’s heart soften towards Stefan? Will Stefan prove worthy of Anna’s affections? Each will have to risk everything to attain what they want–love.

 

 

 

EVEN IF WE CRY

By Terrie Todd

Nina’s one task is to keep her family together while a world war threatens to rip them apart. Warned they “mustn’t cry,” British teenager Nina Gabriel and her two siblings board a ship for Canada as part of the WWII child evacuee program. Nina’s mischievous brother and seasick sister test her limits on the voyage—but her burden of responsibility grows still heavier in Canada. When a telegram arrives after a London bombing, will Nina find a way to fulfill her promise for the brother she’s never met? Will the Gabriel siblings learn they are loved, even if they cry?

 

 

 

LAST LIGHT OVER GALVESTON

By Jennifer L. Wright

Amid the 1900 Galveston hurricane, one woman’s perseverance is tested in this story that Lisa Wingate calls 'beautifully written' and Donna Everhart describes as a 'lyrical, uplifting novel.' As troubling news about a storm crossing the Gulf from Cuba swirls in the Weather Bureau offices, nineteen year-old Kathleen McDaniel, on the run from her horrific past, must gather her courage and reach for a strength beyond her own if she―and those she loves―are to survive.

 

 

 

TITANIC: LEGACY OF BETRAYAL

A Time-Slip Novel

By Kathleen E. Kovach, et al.

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection. Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart. Review: “I told my wife to move this book to the top of her reading list... This titanic story is more interesting than the one told in the Titanic movie... She will absolutely love it.”

 

 

 

THE CURATOR'S SECRET

By Denise Weimer

It’s taken six years for Lacey Colbert to escape the heartbreak that caused her to disappear from Golden Isles Christian Camp and the life of her summer sweetheart, Trent Stevenson. Then a museum curator job at a Gilded Age resort lures her back to Georgia’s Jekyll Island. Lacey finds Trent a director of landscaping right in her historic district. Winter Haven cottage’s century-old mystery of a vanished fiancé compels Lacey to settle her own past with Trent. Just one thing stands in the way … the fact that someone else likes uncovering secrets, too—Lacey’s. And her unknown foe won’t hesitate to use them against her.

 

 

 

MONTANA GOLD

By Janalyn Voigt

Strike it rich with Montana Gold! Escape into six heartfelt inspirational Western historical romances that will affirm your faith in love. Follow the lives and loves of an Irish family in the Wild West. Travel the Oregon Trail to Montana's gold camps and fledgling cattle ranches. Experience each vibrant story and revel in the beauty and resilience of the American West. Here's your chance to savor new love, rousing adventure, and spiritual renewal on every page. Read the Montana Gold series.

 

 

 

LOVE'S FINAL SUNRISE

By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield

New Yorker Ruth Jessup and Amish-bred Joshua Stutzman lived in different worlds; their lives collided into catastrophic proportions battling wits against a psychopath and The New World Order... Fleeing for her life and suffering from amnesia, Ruth finds herself in an hourglass of yesteryear. Can Joshua’s Amish ways help them survive these final three-and-one-half years? “To be honest, I’m not usually drawn to fiction. But for this no-nonsense nonfiction lover, Love’s Final Sunrise was a risk that paid off in full measure. I highly recommend this author’s way of weaving intrigue, romance, and Christian principles.” Lori Ann Wood

 

 

 

A LOVE NOT FORGOTTEN

By Linda Shenton Matchett

Allison White should be thrilled about her upcoming wedding. The problem? She's still in love with her fiancé, who was declared dead after being shot down over Germany. Can she put the past behind her and marry the kindhearted man who loves her? The war is officially over, but not for “Chaz” Powell. He has amnesia as a result of the airplane crash, but the only clue to his identity is a love letter with no return address. Will he ever discover who he is, or will he have to forge a new life with no connections to the past?

 

 

 

WHEN MEMORY WHISPERS

By Johnnie Alexander

Marie Wyatt longed for fame and fortune and found herself in wartime London working as an Allied courier. But when a routine mission turns deadly, a mysterious German agent becomes her unlikely savior. Yet the line between duty and loyalty blurs when the German agent is imprisoned in a Florida POW camp with Axis soldiers who consider him a traitor. Marie embarks on a desperate mission to save him before he’s fatally injured. Plummet into a heart-wrenching tale of courage, treachery, and a love that defies all odds.

Music for Our Souls – "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas O. Chisolm

Last month I wrote about the famous hymn writer Isaac Watts. Let’s continue looking at the hymns and writers of the past whose lyrics have touched our hearts and encouraged our souls.

Many Christians watching this month’s presidential inauguration of President Trump quickly recognized the hymn Great is They Faithfulness that we heard playing at the beginning of the event in the capitol rotunda. (You can see that here if you missed it.) Such an awe-inspiring hymn it is, as it proclaims God’s faithfulness throughout the world, in every season, and through every circumstance! The lyrics hold great meaning in my own life, and perhaps you find hope, peace, and comfort in them too.

Two men combined their talents with earnest prayer to create this classic we’ve now been singing for ¾ of a century.

THOMAS O. CHISOLM

Thomas O. Chisolm was born in 1866, in a cabin in Franklin, Kentucky. Though a frail child, he became a school teacher at sixteen. At twenty-seven, he gave his life to Jesus Christ during a Gospel revival, and he became an ordained minister in 1903. Other than Chisolm’s inclement health which caused him to resign from the pastorate after only a year as a pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, he lived what you might call an ordinary life.

 

Several years after leaving the ministry, Chisolm took a job as an insurance agent, moving around some. However, he wrote a great deal of sacred poetry during those years, penning over 1200 sacred poems in his lifetime. Many were printed in various Christian periodicals. His writing eventually led him to became the editor of The Pentecostal Christian Herald for a period of time.

Some of his poetry he sent in letters he exchanged with friend and little-known musician William M. Runyun. Runyun was particularly drawn to the piece titled Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and he determined to set it to music. Runyun said:

“This particular poem held such an appeal that I prayed most earnestly that my tune might carry over its message in a worthy way, and the subsequent history of its use indicates that God answered that prayer.”

The hymn's broad use didn’t occur right away. But it was published, and eventually, it came to the attention of a professor at Moody Bible Institute. In 1945 George Beverly Shea began singing it at Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusades. Great Is Thy Faithfulness soon swept the world.

One reason, I believe, that the hymn has resonated with so many is because of the Scriptural themes winding throughout.

• Verse One reflects James 1:17 where we are told that there is no changing nor shadow of turning with an ever-faithful God.
• Verse Two notes that all of God’s creation heralds His glory, as His Word points out time and again.
• Verse Three speaks of our sin He not only pardons, but then how God grants us a kind of peace that passes our understanding, to endure as no other kind of peace can, 1 John 1:9. He also promises that His presence (the Holy Spirit in us and His Word to us) will cheer and guide us. And finally, how he will give us strength for each day, as it is needed. OH, how I need those things! 
• Then there’s that beautiful chorus, the root of the song, which hearkens to Lamentations 3:22-23, reminding us that God’s mercy is new every morning. It also reflects Philippians 4:19, pointing out how our Faithful Father will continue to provide for our every need.

Of the poem itself, Thomas Chisolm said:

“…I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that he has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”

As an author myself, I am incredibly inspired both by the words of this hymn and by the remarks of these two men who wrote and composed it. First, Chisolm yielded his talents to God. He wrote this poem first as a reminder to himself of God’s faithfulness and to show his own gratefulness to his Savior. Another of his works that has come to be treasured is Living For Jesus, composed by C. Harold Lowden.

 

For Runyun’s part, the fact that he so carefully bathed the project in prayer in order to give God the utmost glory and for the piece to possibly to bless others, shows me how I should treat every subject and story that God gives me to write about, and it reminds me how I should live my life in even the smallest, most ordinary ways.

In many regards, Chisolm lived an ordinary life. But God can use the most ordinary human to exclaim His glory and goodness. Now don’t you feel like singing along?

 

________________________________________

New news for an older title! The Deepest Sigh, book one in my Echoes of the Heart series has finally come to audio and is free on Audible! 

Farmer's daughter Marilla Eckert marries the man of her dreams, but soon faces the bitter realization that his devotion has always belonged to another. When heartache strikes on every front, an offer of comfort is hard to resist. Can they ever find their hearts' true homes?

Find out more.

On This Day…1807 – with giveaway – by Donna Schlachter

Robert McClure by Stephen Pearce 1858 from Wikipedia Sir_Robert_McClure_by_Stephen_Pearce.jpg

The history of Europeans in the United States stretches back more than 500 years, so this year I will look at a variety of men and women who helped shape our nation.

My first post is about Robert McClure, whose given name was a mouthful—Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure. He was born January 28, 1807, to Captain Robert McClure from Ulster, Ireland, who married Jane, the daughter of Archdeacon John Elgee. Interestingly, his father had died by the time little Robert was born, so he was raised by his godfather, John Le Mesurier, after whom he was named. His godfather, the governor of Alderney, educated him for the army. One item of note is that legend says his real name was MacLeod, but their surname had been changed in the 1650s because of a misspelling or a misreading of the name. We see many instances of that in families who emigrated to the United States, with related branches of families have different spellings of their names.

At the age of 16, he entered the Royal Navy, and in 1836, served as Mate of HMS Terror on an Arctic exploration. On his return, he was commissioned as a lieutenant (pronounced lef-tenant in England), then sailed on the Great Lakes for a year, before being attached to the North American and West Indian naval stations, where he remained for seven years.

In 1848, he joined a search expedition seeking to recover Franklin’s lost expedition, which had tried to cross the Northwest Passage in 1845. They returned unsuccessful in their search, but that didn’t stop him from trying again in 1850, this time commanding his own ship, HMS Investigator and partnering with another ship. They sailed from the east coast of the United States, south to the Strait of Magellan and around to the Pacific Ocean.

HMS Investigator stuck in ice, from Wikipedia HMS_Investigator_stuck_in_ice_(cropped).jpg

 

 

While he lost track of the partner ship, McClure continued his assignment, entering the Arctic Ocean via the Bering Strait, joining another expedition. When his ship became trapped in ice in the spring of 1853, he abandoned it, undertook a sledge journey, finally being rescued by HMS Resolute. While the Resolute was subsequently abandoned, McClure and his crew were the first both to circumnavigate the Americas and to cross the Northwest Passage—considered feats at that time.

On his return home in 1854, McClure faced court martial for losing his ship, which was an automatic action in that situation. However, he was honorably acquitted, then knighted and promoted. British Parliament awarded him and his crew ten-thousand pounds to share. He was also honored by both the British and French geographical societies, as well as the American Antiquarian Society.

His latter years were spent in a slower-paced assignment for which he received the Order of Bath, before he retired to country life as Vice-Admiral. He married Constance Tudor in 1869 at the age of 62. He passed away in 1873.

Robert McClure's grave, from Wikipedia Robert_McClure_grave.jpg

 

 

 

Much happened during McClure’s life, including the confirmation and traversing of the Northwest Passage, the exploration of the Arctic Circle, the circumnavigation of the Americas, the American Civil War, The Mexican-American War, and the War of 1812. He didn’t participate in these conflicts, but his contributions to exploration enabled him to live a life of adventure and bravery. By all accounts, McClure was an honorable man.

Thanks for sticking with me on this exciting peek into the life of an early explorer.

 

Giveaway: Leave a comment to enter a random drawing for an ebook copy of Recipe for Disaster: A 1784 cooking mystery. Please remember to cleverly disguise your email address so the ‘bots don’t get you. For example: donna AT livebytheword DOT com

Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMGFKVKN and the Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGM7Q2GM

About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 60 times in books; is a member of several writers' groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both, and is an avid oil painter. She is taking all the information she’s learned along the way about the writing and publishing process, and is coaching committed writers.

Connecting Online:
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Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McClure