The entry of the United States into the world war in the spring of 1917 brought many changes to the country, some of them quite unexpected. Surely no patriotic shooter or hunter would have imagined that the war would interfere with his ability to take the old 12-gauge off the wall and blast a few pigeons out of the sky whenever he felt like it. But that's exactly what happened. As the Illinois State Journal reported on June 2, 1918, while the war was on, shooting pigeons was not only unpatriotic, it was illegal. Because the use of carrier pigeons was an essential part of the military communications system, and because once they were in the air the message-carrying pigeons could not be distinguished from the plain-old wild variety, all pigeons were to get at least a temporary reprieve from hunters' guns. "Owing to the great need of homing or carrier pigeons in the conduct of the war, the pigeon department of the signal corps has been expanded to large proportions," the Journal reported. "Throughout the United States the training of these pigeons is in progress on an extensive scale. "Considerable interference has been met with in this work on account of the shooting of pigeons being trained for service. .. . A law was recently passed by congress making it unlawful to 'knowingly entrap, capture, shoot, kill, possess or in any way detain an Antwerp or homing pigeon which is owned by the United States or (bears a) band which is owned and issued by the United States. ...' "It is intensely unpatriotic to shoot or interfere with pigeons of any kind, inasmuch as the person indulging in this pastime has no means of differentiating between the ordinary pigeon and the homing or carrier pigeons.'' As if to highlight the importance of protecting pigeons from potshots, the Journal ran another story just three days later headlined "Pigeon Saves Local Aviator.'' It told of the experience of "Aviator Bailey,'' no first name given, the son of Mr. And Mrs. E.O. Bailey of the 500 block of South New Street. The young pilot and a fellow crew member were shot down off the coast off France by a German pilot and left in the sea, clinging to the wreckage of their plane. The men were able to release one of the carrier pigeons they had with them as part of their standard operating gear, and the bird flew back to the fliers' base for help. The pair was rescued - after an uncomfortable seven hours in the water -- thanks to the plucky bird.