Base fire department responds to unauthorized landing Published Nov. 3, 2005 By 1st Lt. Devin Robinson 4th Fighter Wing SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFPN) -- Firefighters here responded to an unauthorized landing that took place Oct. 25 near the fire department’s truck maintenance area. The flyer was taken into custody, and when he responded to interrogators’ questions with unintelligible clicks and whistles, he was placed in a cage and given nothing but bits of newspaper for a bathroom. Before everyone jumps to their feet to report cruel and unethical treatment of a prisoner, one should know that if the flyer had been able to speak, he would have no doubt requested the very treatment he received. Why would a flyer request such bizarre and inhumane treatment? Simple. The flyer was a homing pigeon, a rare bird used for hundreds of years to carry messages over long distances. It seems, however, this bird was a little off course. The ancestors of today’s Iraqis used homing pigeons in Baghdad as early as the 12th century A.D., and Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan not very much later used them in his conquest of the Eurasian continent. Paul Reuters, who founded Reuters News agency, used a fleet of more than 45 homing pigeons to carry news and stock prices between Brussels, Belgium and Germany in the mid-1800s. Homing pigeons are no strangers to the military environment. In World War I, the U.S. Army Signal Corps used more than 600 pigeons in France. In World War II, the British had more than 250,000 pigeons they used for message traffic, many of which were awarded the Dickin Medal -- the most prestigious British medal for animal valor. OK, so homing pigeons were pretty common military assets years ago, but what was this pigeon doing at Seymour Johnson? Shelley Good, base wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, had the answer. “The bird was a racing pigeon released in Greensboro, N.C., and was supposed to fly back to its home in Wilmington, N.C.,” Mrs. Good said. “It was well on its way when it got lost in the fog and ended up over Seymour Johnson. Homing pigeons carry enough fuel to fly for around 18 hours straight, and when this one got lost it ended up being in the air for significantly longer.” The bird landed at Seymour looking for food, Mrs. Good said. “This type of domesticated bird associates people with food and water,” she said. “When she saw the base, she landed thinking she would get some food. I have never seen such a tiny bird eat so much water and seeds so quickly.” This theory seems to be proven true by the manner of the bird's capture. “I was taking a fire truck over for the mechanic to take a look at it, and when I got inside, the guy was on his hands and knees trying to coax this pigeon into his hand,” said Bryan Bauman, the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron lead firefighter. “I was able to get within about 5 inches of the bird, and that’s when I saw the little tag with IF ACC 4857 printed on it. I thought maybe the bird belonged to Air Combat Command, and so we wanted to try and catch it to see. We eventually managed to catch it using popcorn.” Once they had corralled the bird, they called Mrs. Good who came to pick up the bird. After the pigeon received its sustenance, Mrs. Good set about locating the bird’s home. “The bird had a small band on each leg,” she said. “After a little research, I discovered that the information on the band stood for International Federation Banding Number Atlantic Coast Club. A few phone calls later, I was talking to a disabled veteran from Wilmington who had served in Vietnam with the 82nd Airborne Division and arranging a time for him to come and collect the bird.” "The bird was no worse for the wear," said the veteran. "She did lose quite a bit of weight, so I’ll have to wait until next year to race her again." In fact, it's not unusual for young racing pigeons to get lost occasionally. It actually helps them to be better navigators. “This is not all that unusual of an occurrence,” Mrs. Good said. “North Carolina has one of the largest homing pigeon communities in the country.”