October 18, 1943 –
During World War II, a pigeon named G.I. Joe saved the lives of the inhabitants of the village of Calvi Vecchia, Italy, and of the British troops occupying it, on this date. Air support had been requested against German positions at Calvi Vecchi on this date, but the message that the British 169th Infantry Brigade had captured the village, delivered by G.I. Joe, arrived just in time to avoid the bombing.
Up to a thousand men were saved. On November 4, 1946, G.I. Joe was presented the Dickin Medal for gallantry by Major-General Charles Keightley at the Tower on London, the citation credits him with the most outstanding flight made by a United States Army homing pigeon in World War II. G.I. Joe was the 29th and the first non-British recipient of the medal.
The Haus of Dcaligari 