one of their homing pigeons, a blue check hen named cher ami, was awarded the french "croix de guerre with palm" for heroic service delivering 12 important messages during the battle of verdun. on her final mission in october 1918, she delivered a message despite having been shot through the breast or wing. the crucial message, found in the capsule hanging from a ligament of her shattered leg, saved 194 us soldiers of the 77th infantry division's "lost battalion".