Canadian Embassy event kicks off Devil’s Brigade reunion (SF WWII)

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, August 12, 2005) – A special ceremony at the Canadian embassy Aug. 11 kicked off a major reunion for a famed U.S.-Canadian military unit taking place on the other side of the continent.

The event in the U.S. capital was to recognize the veterans of the First Special Service Force – better known as the Devil’s Brigade – who were gathering for their 59th annual reunion in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 11-13 August. It was also to note a special presentation at the reunion, the awarding of U.S. Army Combat Infantryman’s Badges to Canadian infantrymen veterans of the Force.

In June, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker authorized the retroactive award of the CIB to the Canadian infantry veterans of this unique World War II Special Operations unit, whose exploits have been recorded in a number of books, as well as a popular 1968 movie starring William Holden and Cliff Robertson. The American members of this unit had received the CIB during the war but it was not authorized then for foreign Soldiers.

At the Calgary reunion, Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr., commanding general of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, will present CIBs to Canadian Devil’s Brigade veterans at the reunion’s closing banquet August 13. The special forces of both the U.S. and Canadian Armies trace their histories back to the First Special Service Force.

Arriving at the Washington ceremony, Soldiers of the U.S. Army and embassy staff members from the Canadian Armed Forces were greeted by music provided by Staff Sergeants Nancy McCaskill (on flute) and Missy Dunn (on harp) from the U.S. Army Field Band.

Canadian Lt. Col. Jamie Robertson opened the ceremony by expressing his appreciation to the U.S. Army for the way it would be honoring Canadian veterans this week in Calgary. He also sadly noted the recent passing of Sgt. Smokey Smith, Canada’s last surviving Victoria Cross recipient. Although not a member of the Devil’s Brigade, Smith received the British Commonwealth’s highest decoration for valor for action in Italy, where the Devil’s Brigade also served.

Robertson was followed by Canadian Col. Richard Giguere, the acting commander of the Canadian Defence Liaison Staff at the embassy. Giguere paid tribute to the Force, calling it “a seamless fighting force.” He related how the Force always met every objective assigned, no matter the cost. By the time the Force was disbanded, it had suffered 600 percent casualties. It had also inflicted some 12,000 casualties on the enemy.

Giguere concluded by noting that the level of trust and respect that exists between the U.S. and Canadian armed forces as they fight side-by-side in the war on terror can be traced back to what was started by the First Special Service Force.

“The legacy built by the Devil’s Brigade is alive and well,” Giguere said.

Col. Henry Huntley from the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs represented the U.S. Army at the embassy event. He, too, paid tribute to the men of the Devil’s Brigade, reading a note from the U.S. Army Chief of Staff:

“To the courageous men of the First Special Service Force. Since the formation of the Force during World War II, the enduring bond of brothers-in-arms between members of the Devil’s Brigade has been symbolic of the historic friendship between the United States and Canada. Later this week, the U.S. Army Combat Infantryman’s Badge will be awarded to the Canadian members of the combined U.S.-Canadian Force in recognition of their valiant service. The Combat Infantryman’s Badge is recognized world-wide as a symbol of excellence in close infantry combat. On behalf of all Soldiers of the United States Army, I congratulate you and thank you for answering the call to duty more than 60 years ago.”

Huntley pointed out that Canadian Forces continue the bond that Schoomaker mentioned by their service in Afghanistan on the Provincial Reconstruction Teams and said that Canada’s presence in Afghanistan would increase next year with the deployment of a brigade headquarters and task force to Kandahar.

“So clearly, the camaraderie forged in the Second World War by American and Canadian veterans endures to this day, as we recognize the courage and gallantry of our noble friends and intrepid veterans,” Huntley concluded. “May we always stand together.”

A bit off topic, but Hampton Gray was from Nelson, B.C.

I heard that history channel was running a show on his last battle this week.

Lt. Robert Hampton Gray

Onagawa Wan, Japan

August 9th, 1945

Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Hampton Gray was born in Trail, British Columbia, on the 2nd of November 1917, the son of a Boer War veteran. He received his early education in a public school and high school in Nelson, B.C. and then spent a year at the University of Alberta in Edmonton followed by two years at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In 1940 he was selected as one of seventy-five candidates for commissions in the Navy. He was one of thirteen who qualified as pilots in the Fleet Air Arm. In 1944 he was a lieutenant on H.M.S. 'Formidable'. For his brilliant work during the attack on the German battleship 'Tirpitz' in Alten Fjord he was Mentioned-in-Dispatches. In July 1945 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for aiding in the destruction of a destroyer in the Tokyo area and on the 9th of August he won the Victoria Cross as recorded in the citation. Lieutenant Gray has no known grave as neither he nor his plane were ever found, but his name is inscribed on the Sailor's Memorial in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His Victoria Cross is on loan to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Citation

'For great bravery in leading an attack to within fifty feet of a Japanese destroyer in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire, thereby sinking the destroyer although he was hit and his own aircraft on fire and finally himself killed. He was one of the gallant company of Naval Airmen who, from December 1944, fought and beat the Japanese from Palembang to Tokyo. The actual incident took place in the Onagawa Wan on the 9th of August 1945. Gray was leader of the attack which he pressed home in the face of fire from shore batteries and at least eight warships. With his aircraft in flames he nevertheless obtained at least one direct hit which sank its objective.

Lieut. R.H. Gray, D.S.C., R.C.N.V.R., of Nelson, B.C., flew off the Aircraft Carrier, H.M.S. "Formidable" on August 9th 1945, to lead an attack on Japanese shipping in Onagawa Wan (Bay) in the Island of Honshu, Mainland of Japan. At Onagawa Bay the fliers found below a number of Japanese ships and dived in to attack. Furious fire was opened on the aircraft from army batteries on the ground and from warships in the Bay. Lieut. Gray selected for his target an enemy destroyer. He swept in oblivious of the concentrated fire and made straight for his target. His aircraft was hit and hit again, but he kept on. As he came close to the destroyer his plane caught fire but he pressed to within fifty feet of the Japanese ship and let go his bombs. He scored at least one direct hit, possibly more. The destroyer sank almost immediately. Lieutenant Gray did not return. He had given his life at the very end of his fearless bombing run.'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The London Gazette, 13th November 1945

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