illinigander Posted July 20, 2022 Share #1 Posted July 20, 2022 I have a friend who collects IL DI's. He is looking for an example for the 487th Organized Reserve of Illinois. This apparently is not to be confused with the 487th Artillery Battalion which is a different unit. The motto for the unit consists of a "strange bird" and the text is: BIRD WHICH DEVOURES MAN. I know nothing about collecting DI's, so has anyone ever seen one? Thank you. illinigander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted July 20, 2022 Share #2 Posted July 20, 2022 What kind of a unit is an Organized Reserve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tredhed2 Posted July 20, 2022 Share #3 Posted July 20, 2022 The unit is the 487th Field Artillery Regiment. The motto is PIASA which translates into “Bird Which Devours Man”. Very rare piece, trying to obtain image for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illinigander Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share #4 Posted July 20, 2022 Thank you tredhed2. Now the PIASA makes sense. Early white explorers traveling down the Missisippi River found a very large image of a bird painted on a rock cliff, which became southern Illinois. Early settlers quarried these rocks and destroyed this petroglyth. Several sketches survive, but it is not known how authentic they are. illinigander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tredhed2 Posted July 20, 2022 Share #5 Posted July 20, 2022 Here's your image. The motto is in an unk (to me) Native American language, as are several other DIs. As stated, it was considered rare in the early 50s and even more so today,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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