He underwent a training for two-way homing pigeons perfected at
Fort Monmouth, in
New Jersey.'' During the
Italian Campaign of World War II, G.I. Joe saved the lives of the inhabitants of the village of
Calvi Vecchia,
Italy, and of the
British troops of
56th (London) Infantry Division occupying it. Air support had been previously requested against German positions at Calvi Vecchia on 18 October 1943. However, the
169th (London) Infantry Brigade attacked and won back the village from the Germans ahead of schedule, but was unable to transmit a message via radio to call off the planned American air raid. G.I. Joe was dispatched as a last resort to carry the message and arrived in the air base just in time to prevent the Allied air force from bombing its own men. G.I. Joe flew this 20-mile distance in an impressive 20 minutes, just as the planes were preparing to take off for the target. Over 100 men were saved. On 4 November 1946, G.I. Joe was presented the
Dickin Medal for gallantry by Major-General
Charles Keightley at the Tower of London. The citation credits him with "the most outstanding flight made by a United States Army homing pigeon in World War II". The award is considered the equivalent of the
Victoria Cross or the
Medal of Honor for animals. G.I. Joe was the 29th and the first non-British recipient of the medal. == Death ==