u/JustARandomDude712

I keep coming back to this story.

The 77th Infantry Division was trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest. 194 soldiers, surrounded, being shelled by their own side by mistake. They had no way to communicate except one pigeon.

Cher Ami took off under heavy fire. He was shot through the chest. Lost an eye. His leg was hanging by a tendon. He still flew 40 km in 25 minutes and delivered the message.

The shelling stopped. 194 soldiers survived because of a pigeon.

He was awarded the Croix de Guerre by France. When he died, they kept his body at the Smithsonian.

There's a 🦤 dodo emoji. A 🪸 coral reef. A 🫏 donkey. Still no pigeon. Someone actually started a petition — 19 signatures so far, humble beginning, but it exists if you're curious.

I've been looking into this and it genuinely surprised me.

Pigeons have lived alongside humans for over 5,000 years. They saved lives in both World Wars carrying messages. They can recognize themselves in a mirror — only 6 species on Earth can do that.

And yet there's no pigeon emoji. 🐦

There's 🦤 dodo (extinct), 🦩 flamingo, 🦜 parrot, 🪼 jellyfish... but nothing for the bird that's literally everywhere.

Someone actually started a petition to fix this if you're curious.