Newspapers / The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, … / Oct. 19, 1944, edition 1 / Page 12
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(One Day Nearer Victory) THURSDAY, OCTOBER Pace 12 THE WAYNES VILLE MOUNTAINEER Homing Pigeons Play Important Role With War Communications LAFF-A-DAY MIAMI, Fla. Dusty, the hom ing pigeon at the Army Air Trans port Command's 36th St. base here, is no longer a "gourmet's specialty" squab on toast but rather a feathered soldier in the United States Army. Dusty is an army messenger who bails out at 35,000 feet to fly through flak and natural phe nomena over hundred miles of ocean and land to bring to his home base the message upon which may depend the lives of his erew mates. The pigeon is represented in all branches of the armed services. Combat units carry their pigeons along they are parachuted down to men in isolated areas to sub stitute for warlike-talkie radios when dense jungles make t ht range radio ineffective. 1 In Tk ,.K;..f ! uh. i be wash. Flight surgeons were puzzled i over the pigeon's complete immun- ity to freezing temperatures and lack of oxygen. During flight the pigeon is oblivious to altitude while the crew men work in oxygen masks. The hystery was for a time second only to the question, how does a pigeon pick a straight course home from a distance of several hundred miles? The answer, however, was soon found by flight surgeons. They discovered that the pigeon's basal metabolic rate was so low that ev- i en the oxygen present at 35,000 or ' 40,000 feet is sufficient to keep the j bird alive. His oxviren intake is low and he is able to withstand the ; cold because of a slightly higher I hort ! body heat, the medicos explained. uddition his body insulation can doubled bv fluffing out his othe fo of com- stitute for munication. When the Army Air Forces de cided to adapt the bird for use in aircraft, they ran into some diffi culty. Releasing the pigeons from ground cages, to pick their own altitude for flying, was one thing; tossing them out into the slip stream of a four-motored bomber roaring along at 300 miles an hour at altitudes up to 35,000 feet, where sub-zero temperatures will freeze a man's hands or face and where an oxygen mask must be worn was something else. The blast from the propellers threatened to shear their wings off. The Army solved the problem by placing the bird in a paper bag, slit down one side, before dropping him out. The second it takes him to fight free is enough to sweep him clear of plane and propeller feathers to catch warm particles of QUICK RELIEF FROM Symptom of Distress Arising from STOMACH ULCERS due to EXCESS ACID FrMBookToUsofHoiMTrastiiMntthat Must Help or It Will Cost You Nothing Over two million bottle of the WILLABD TREATMENT have been sold for relief of lymptoma of distress arising from Stomach and Duodenal Ulcon due to Eros AcM Poor Digestion, Sour or Upset Stomach, Gasslmss, Heartburn, SleopUseness, ate-, due to Eacess Add. Sold on 15 days' trial' Uk for "Millard's Message" which fully explains this treatment tree at SMITH'S DRUG STORE j air. i The Air Transport Command's .'ilith St. base began using pigeons five months ago. It now has 1,800 birds with other thousands scat tered at stations throughout the Caribbean and South American bases. Tachtical ships leaving the Miami base and combat planes fer ried to overseas theatres carry a crate of four pigeons two to fly home to the Miami base and two who will fly to the next base on the route. If the plane lands at sea, all birds are set free with messages, which gives the location, time, identity of ship and any other in formation which might be neces sary. The pigeons are put through a regular "basic training" at ATC's bases at 3(ith St. Homestead and Morrison Field, Fla., under the di rection of Lt. John Regan, a for mer Boston College football star. He said "as soon as they are able to fly, we start them out just like we would a bunch of G. I.'s short trips at the beginning and longer trips toward the end. They start at six weeks, and at 12 weeks we've had them flying 300 miles over water with nothing to rest on during the trip." "Pigeons will go AWOL just like GI's," he explained. "We bring them in here from southern states to their port of embarkation and I a.-- ' v- " . V ' .ty!''' I- n . . I...-MM n. ',' ' , ' i" "This fish I caught hardly seems worth a picture with their movable homes, they're relocated overseas. But just let them get loose here, and they're gone. We've had them go AWOL back to North Carolina, Mississippi and other places." F'io-eons sometimes break loose from their cote. One recently flew j from St. Lucia Island in the lower Caribbean and turned up five days later at Morrison Field a flight of 1,750 miles. An experienced pigeon can fly from 12 to 15 hours steadily but he won't fly during a heavy rain due to the weight of the water on his wings. A pigeon will not fly after dark even though he may be over the ocean. He will settle down into the water and drown. Flying the Caribbean and Cen tral and South American jungles, a pigeon will encounter sudden thunderstorms and large birds of prey. He will fly over, under, or around a storm or even fly to the nearest island to sit it out. A pigeon can carry up to one third of its own weight packed on ARE YOUR W MOV" 77 SQl --"-"V THEN READ THESE jgys WARTME FACTS mr fact no. i 4 &s&& 3&m MF'M ' B0S W'rS SSSS. Sc owat rJ,l- fguitv W "'"'' nd Mtt Ve o 9K vtV 4 tSr Wr con'l''on have made vSSSS jo4" i lo1 WK even bigger differences in KSSSXS tri!.ctf R tT n wearing quality and lading MSXKKV b'1 d u iim Jfc JOURNAL Wise Mothers choose tPoDD-IPciLrirot SHOES with BUILT-IN FIT for Boys and Girls- PollPafroT SHOfES far tor o&Glrlt . this famous 'ed tuner con- 1. Room for growing toes 2. Correlated heel-to-ball (it 3. No-binding instep 4. Age-conforming orchei 5. Anlte-hogging fop fines 6. Snug, pear-shaped heel 7. Straight-tread lasts 8. Free-action flexibility 9. Soff, durable uppers 10. Rugged, ong-weoringjoes Today ... as always brand means the rit struction and sturdy materials that give long near. Your youngster's feet are correctly supported . . . com fortable . . . protected by a shoe that keeps its shape . .. vital to grow th! MASSIFS DEPT. STORE C. J. RlECE, Owner Civic League Has Initial Meeting Of Club Year The Waynesville ' Civic League held the first meeting of the cur rent club year on Wednesday even ing at the home of the president, Mrs.,Rufus L. Allen. Officers gave their reports for the summer acti vities. Mrs. R. R. Campbell, league rep resentative on the Community Council, gave an account of the progress of the -program under the direction of Mr. Tenney. Mrs. Homer West was appointed chairman (A- the program commit tee to decide on the year's study. She was given the privilege of naming her own committee mem bers. The annual collection of articles of clothing for the inmates of the county home was made during the evening. The members went on record as pledging their support to the move ment to enforce the law regarding the sale of intoxicants to minors. Announcement was made of the containers placed in the cemetery for holding trash, the gift of the president. Announcement was made of the placing of "She Heard with her Heart,' by Mary Avery Johnston, in the county library by the league. The next meeting of the group was announced for November 15th with Mrs. K. R. Campbell as hos t. ss. A candidate for the police force was being verbially examined: Kxaminer If you were alone in a police car and were pursued by a desperate gang of criminals in another car doing GO miles an hour along a lonely road, what would you do? Candidate (looking puzzled for a moment) Kighty! A husband away from home got this message: "Jack, come home, children and myself are starving. If you can't come, mail the ration books." his back. Photographic negatives are sometimes dispatched in a cylinder tied to a pigeon's back. QGE5(RiS8 SI 4 9 dLf seea.seew'i ' 1 T WAN nl Tnl More Esseitial W Workers to Shorte load to Berlin ai n There is an important, and essential war j waiting for you at Dayton Rubber. No red tape just apply at the personnel office, get the facts on the jobs available. There is an important, and good paying job waiting for you. Many start on the job within a few hours after applying at the personnel office. There Is Every Advantage En Having An Essential War Job Right Here At Home . . . EXCELLENT TRANSPORTATION FA CILITIES NOW AVAILABLE TO AN FROM AL L SHIFTS At Dayton Rubber Manufacturing Company YOU WILL FIND Good Working Conditions Clean Lunch Rooms fa Good Locker and Rest Room Facilities fa Vacations With Pay fa Group Insurance Beneiu fa Peace-Time Job Opportunities fa 48-Hour Work Schedule Men and women without factory experience are paid while they learn H these important iohs. Annlv NOW? If vnn sr q fnrmpr pmnlovee of DaftB 'l - r r w " w -1 i i i u -i i. A- t-i'.' - . i - .. rt imnied''i uer you snuuiu cnecit ioaay ine possiouuies oi your returning iu - Apply Now At ) Waynesville, N. C. Applicants Must Comply With WMC Regulations 'Buy War Bonds and Stamps.
The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, N.C.)
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Oct. 19, 1944, edition 1
12
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