While the British Expeditionary Forces were defending Belgium in Mons against Germany’s first and second armies, the French armies were defending France from Germany’s third and fourth armies. Nicknamed the Tommies by their homeland, the British Expeditionary Forces wore Brodie hats, and green khaki uniforms, whereas the French uniform consisted of a blue kepi, blue coat, and red trousers. Their red trousers would subsequently be replaced by a dark, less conspicuous color, and their cloth hats would be replaced with helmets.
It was late in the day, and sounds of heavy gun artillery and rattling of machine guns had already decreased on the battlefield. The naïve fledglings continued their flight into the woodlands to dwell on the sidelines of the allied troops, anxious to settle in their new homes, unaware of the magnitude of The Great War.
Homer piled leaves and other fallen tree debris loosely in a circle on the ground and carefully settled in. Clovis gathered small twigs, leaves, and moss, and constructed a strong nest on the branch above. Homer watched him fly back and forth into the woods, wondering why he was spending so much time on a silly nest. Soon, they rested for the night.
At the crack of dawn, heavy gun artillery commenced with ground-shaking tremors, as explosions erupted on the battleground. Homer’s nest collapsed beneath him, and he rolled over onto the ground. “Help, help!” he screeched.
Alarmed, Clovis flew down to rescue him. Although Homer had calmed down, he was not impressed with the loud sounds coming from the battlefield. “This is a war!” Clovis reminded him.
“I can’t hear you!”
“Follow me,” motioning to Homer.
They flew to a tree and watched the sun rise over the smoky battlefield. The British troops were engaged in heated warfare. Flying missiles bounced back and forth like speeding lights, with pieces of shrapnel bursting in the air short of impact. Adjusting to the loud sounds of artillery, and the groans of the fallen soldiers would not be an easy task for the birds to endure. At certain intervals, the medical teams on both sides were allowed to rescue their wounded soldiers. Medical trucks would then transport them to field hospitals.
Meanwhile, Clovis noticed a white carrier pigeon being released from behind the enemy’s line of fire.
“Look over there, let’s follow him.”
“Why? He is not on our side,” responded Homer
“That’s just it, Homer, he might be carrying one of those messages that the Spitter talked about, remember?”
“I just want to go home,” he whined.
“Rise above it, Homer! The peaceful life we once knew is over.”
“Okay, but we don’t know anything about the messages either.”
“I could never live in a cage, Homer.”
“I know.”
“But, maybe we can still help our country.”
They agreed that if they were going to survive the war, they would have to forget that fateful day when their homeland was destroyed. Clovis and Homer made an official pact that they would never mention Doveland again.
It was time to take action. Keeping out of sight, they flew quietly through the woods below the canopy until they caught up with the enemy carrier pigeon. Clovis and Homer attacked the carrier and forced him to the ground. Puzzled by the sudden attack, the enemy carrier became frightened. Homer held him down firmly.
“You are too slow, we will take over from here.”
Removing the canister was too difficult. Finally, Clovis released the clip with his beak and slowly pulled out the piece of paper while Homer distracted him.
“What’s your name?”
“Flying Cloud,” he answered reluctantly.
They released the carrier and shoved the piece of paper beneath the ground leaves while the carrier continued his journey across the Meuse River to enemy headquarters in Liege.
Clovis and Homer hid along the bank of the river and waited to see what would happen next. It wasn’t long before the enemy carrier flew back toward the enemy camp. They waited until Flying Cloud returned with yet another message, and they detained him once again.
“Now listen, boys, they told me at if I lost another one, they would shoot me,” he quivered.
“Then don’t return,” suggested Homer, as Clovis emptied the canister once again.
Once Flying Cloud was released, he ignored Homer’s warning and continued his journey over the river. Several moments later, they heard a single gunshot. Homer quickly absolved himself of any guilt.
“You heard me warn him, Clovis.”
Their role in the war would become unchanged as they vowed to help the allies win the war.
Later in the day, they returned to the sidelines to find the allied troops had been forced to retreat further south into France. The British regulars were known for their marksmanship, but their skills were no match for the heavy gun artillery of the central powers.
Homer became disgruntled at having to build another nest.
“Now, I guess we can be called border birds!”
The next morning would mark a new post lookout next to the sidelines of the battlefield. They soon followed yet another enemy carrier. As the carrier flew over the forest, he paused briefly as if he were attempting to move the canister away from his feathers. Clovis and Homer perched nearby.
“Oh, no, it’s the Spitter!” whispered Clovis.
Soon they made their way and perched one on each side of the carrier. The Spitter grumbled, “I demand to know what is going on!”
“You seem to be having trouble with that canister, and we might be of some help,” said Clovis.
“As a high ranking army official of the central powers, I demand my release at once!” he said as the spittle reached Clovis.
Clovis then pretended to loosen the clamp as he pulled the paper out of the canister, letting it fall to the ground unnoticed, while Homer distracted him.
“Where are you going?”
The Spitter became suspicious.
“You two look familiar.”
“Don’t think so,” replied Clovis. “We’re too scared to leave the woods with all that gunfire.”
“You patriots are in a lot of trouble for detaining me,” he grimaced as he flew away.
“What’s a patriot?” asked Homer.
“Don’t know. We’re just defending our country.”
They flew to the nearest watering hole where Clovis flapped his wings to wash the spittle from his little feathers. Homer began to laugh.
“It’s not funny, Homer. I don’t like that bird!”
After another long day, the patriots traveled back to their lookout to find the troops had once again retreated. Smoldering tree stumps and abandoned field artillery lay on the battlefield. They entered the woods alongside the allied troops once again. Homer grumbled while putting together yet another nest.
“Are we losing the war, Clovis?”
“We’re going to help win the war, you’ll see.”
Because some of the troops were moving away from camp under cover of darkness, Clovis and Homer discussed the necessity for keeping vigil at night. Clovis would stand guard the first half of the night.