Commandos and POWs: The Extraordinary Pigeons That Helped Win WWII

On the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landing in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, the world reflects on the victories and losses of World War II.

But not so much, perhaps, on a less well-known player in the war effort: the lowly pigeon, who brought news of the successful D-Day invasion back to England, among other feats.

Carrier pigeons were used frequently in the first world war. Despite considerable advancements in communications between World Wars I and II, pigeons were still used throughout World War II "as supplemental and emergency means of communication," when phone lines were cut or radio contact was not possible, according to America in WWII, a publication that examines the country's presence in the second world war. Read more...