War Pigeons: They Got Their Messages Through
| Dates: | April 24, 2023 |
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| Meets: | M from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM |
| Location: | Online |
| Cost: | $0.00 |
Please note: This course program requires membership in a 2022-2023 OLLI at MSU Membership
Based on her book, War Pigeons: Winged Couriers in the U.S. Military, 1878-1957, Elizabeth Macalaster's lecture traces the remarkable service of homing pigeons in the U.S. military. Their story begins after the Civil War with Nelson Miles, an army colonel stationed in Montana. It continues through the birds' invaluable communications role in every military branch. For 75 years, these one-pound birds were the military's most reliable means of communication through four wars on four continents. They carried messages in and out of gas, smoke, exploding bombs and gunfire. They flew through jungles, across deserts, over mountain tops and large expanses of ocean, rarely failing to arrive at their lofts, even when mortally wounded. "War Pigeons" will introduce you to the unforgettable heroes of our military.
| Fee: | $0.00 |
Online
This is a real-time (live) online class that meets at the specified day(s)/time(s) listed.We will send you a reminder email with login instructions one business day before the program start date. If there are additional sessions, we will send reminders the morning of those sessions.
Elizabeth Macalaster
Elizabeth Macalaster started her career as a marine biologist, studying a deep-water North Atlantic octopus. She then turned to science journalism and worked for the Department of the Interior and the EPA on water quality issues. Under the pen name Ryan Ann Hunter, Elizabeth and Pamela D. Greenwood collaborated on award-winning nonfiction books for children and young adults. Their book, In Disguise! Undercover With Real Women Spies, reveals the achievements of unsung heroines throughout history. Elizabeth is also the author of Reckoning at Harts Pass, an adventure/thriller in which homing pigeons play a covert role. Her latest book is War Pigeons: Winged Couriers in the U.S. Military, 1878-1957 (McFarland, 2020), the first complete accounting of the remarkable service of homing pigeons with American armed forces.