10 Facts About Cher Ami

Cher Ami was a male homing pigeon known for his military service during World War I, especially the Meuse-Argonne offensive in October 1918.

Cher Ami is famous for delivering a message alerting American forces to the location of the Lost Battalion, despite sustaining severe injuries.

Cher Ami was one of 600 English-bred birds donated to the Pigeon Service on May 20,1918.

Cher Ami's identification band is stamped with "NURP 18 EAD 615," meaning he was a "National Union Racing Pigeon" and born in 1918.

Cher Ami arrived back at his loft at division headquarters 25 miles to the rear in just 25 minutes, about 5 minutes after the shelling had ceased.

Cher Ami had been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, and had a leg hanging only by a tendon.

Cher Ami became the hero of the 77th Infantry Division.

Cher Ami died at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, on June 13,1919, from the wounds he received in battle.

In 2021, the National Museum of American History, together with the Smithsonian's National Zoo, had DNA samples from Cher Ami analyzed which concluded the bird is a cock bird.

Since 1921, Cher Ami has been on display at the Smithsonian Institution, then the United States National Museum.