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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 02/03/2003 5:35:52 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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While the origins of U.S. Army Special Forces date back to the French and Indian War and the formation of Rogers’ Rangers, the modern concepts of unconventional warfare were largely developed in World War II with the formation of several specially trained units. One of the these early Special Forces units was the First Special Service Force, also known as the “Devil’s Brigade.”  After receiving his orders, Frederick began to organize a staff, obtain American and Canadian volunteers, and locate a place to train the new unit. To fill the Force’s ranks, Frederick and his staff recruited men with experience in working outdoors--lumberjacks, forest rangers, hunters, game wardens, prospectors, and others suitable for the Force’s mission. The Force was organized into three regiments, each made up of two battalions. It also had a small Air Force Detachment and a Service Battalion. In all, the Force would have approximately 2,300 officers and men. The First Special Service Force was activated on 9 July 1942 at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana. The rugged, mountainous terrain and extreme winter conditions made Montana the ideal place for training. The Forcemen underwent rigorous training in a variety of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, demolition techniques, airborne assault, and attack maneuvers. In the fall, a group of Norwegian Army ski troops arrived to teach the Forcemen cross country skiing. In the fall of 1942, however, the Allies cancelled Project Plough. Although seemingly without a mission with the termination of Plough, Allied leaders decided to keep the well trained Force. In spring 1943, the Force underwent amphibious training at Norfolk, Virginia, for possible future amphibious operations.  Lieutenant Colonel Robert Tryon Frederick Original Commander Assembled, Organized, Trained, and Commanded First Special Services Force On 15 August 1943, the First Special Service Force participated in its first operation. The Forcemen landed on the rocky shores of Kiska in the Aleutian Islands, only to discover the Japanese had secretly abandoned the island. After returning to the U.S., the First Special Service Force was reassigned to the Mediterranean Theater and the fighting on the Italian peninsula. The Force arrived in Naples on 19 November 1943 and went into the line at Santa Maria with the 36th Infantry Division. In early December, the Force stormed and captured Monte La Difensa, a major hill mass blocking the Fifth Army’s advance which had been unsuccessfully assaulted by a number of other Allied units. In late December 1943 and early January 1944, the Force captured Monte Sammucro and Monet Mojo and held them against heavy odds. After a brief rest, the Force was sent into the Anzio Beachhead on 2 February and took up positions on the Allies right flank. Despite being forty percent understrength, the Force effectively held thirteen kilometers of front for ninety-nine continuous days and even penetrated the German main line of resistance on occasion. It was at Anzio that the Force earned its nickname, the “Devil’s Brigade,” for their fierce style of fighting in blackened faces. An entry from a diary found on the body of a German officer read, “The Black Devils are all around us every time we come into line, and we never hear them.” The Force seized key bridges south of Rome and entered the city with other Allied units on 4 June. In its last campaign, now under the command of COL Edwin A. Walker, the Force seized three islands off the south coast of France on 14 August to protect the Allied landings. However, the Force’s time was almost up. On 5 December 1944, the Force was disbanded. Many of the American Forcemen were sent to American airborne units as desperately needed replacements. Others served with the 474th Infantry (Separate), which saw action with the Third Army and later performed occupation duty in Norway.  In its relatively brief wartime service, the First Special Service Force suffered over 2,700 casualties. It was awarded five U.S. Army campaign streamers and another ten by Canada. The Force’s legacy lives on as the seven Special Forces groups currently in the Regular Army or Army National Guard all trace their lineage to the First Special Service Force.
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That's the truth, if I ever heard it. LOL Thanks for the history, Valin.
Education:
Schreiner Insitute; 1925-1927 New Mexico Military Institute;
1927-1931 US Military Academy, West Point;
1937 Field Artillery School;
1946 Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth;
1948 Air War College
1931 commissioned, Field Artillery
1932-1933 Battery Officer, 15th Field Artillery (Fort Sam Houston, Tex.)
1934-1936 Battery Officer, 16th Field Artillery Battalion (Fort Myer, Va.); US Army polo team
1936-1939 Battery Executive Officer, 18th Field Artillery Regiment (Fort Sill, Okl.)
1939-1941 Battery Commander, 2nd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery Regiment (Schofield Barracks, T.H.)
1942-1943 Artillery Battalion Commander, 4th Infantry Division (Camp Gordon, Ga.) & 83rd Infantry Division (Camp Atterbury, Ind.) & 2nd Cavalry Division (Fort Clark, Tex.)
1943-06.1944 Commanding Officer, 3rd Regiment, 1st Special Service Force (Aleutins, Italy)
06.1944-12.1944 Commander, 1st Special Service Force (Italy, France, Germany)
1944-1945 Commanding Officer, 474th Infantry Regiment (Germany)
1945 Commander, Task Force A, Oslo (Norway)
1946-1947 Executive, Assistent Director Combined Arms Department Field Artillery School, (Fort Sill, Okl.)
1948-1949 Staff Officer, Office of the Chief of Staff (Washington, DC)
1949-1950 Secretary, General Staff, 4th Army (Fort Sam Houston)
1950-1951 Assistant Commander, Ranger Training Commnd (Fort Benning)
1951-1952 Commanding Officer, 2nd Infantry Divisional Artillery; Commanding Officer, 7th Infantry Reiiment, 3rd Infantry Division
1952-1953 Deputy Chief of Staff for Prisoners of War Affairs, 8th Army; then senior adviser First Republic of Korea Corps, KMAG (Korea)
02.1953-09.1954 Deputy Commander for supporting arms, 82nd Airborne Division (Fort Bragg, NC)
1955 chief Army sect. MAAG, Tapai, Taiwan, adviser to Commander-in-Chief Chinese Nationalist Army
1955-1957 Commanding General, 25th Divisional Artillery (Schofield Barracks)
1957-1959 Commanding General, Arkansas Military District (Little Rock)
10.1959-1961 Commanding General, 24th Infantry Division (Augsburg, Germany)
1961 Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, US Army Headquarters Europe
1961 resignated [because of right-wing opinions]
(Vice-)President American Eagle Publishing Co., consultant, author, speaker;
1962 candidate for Governor of Texas
Ranks:
2nd Lt. (1931); Lt.Col.; Col. (1944); Brig.Gen. (1953); Maj.Gen. (1957)
Decorations:
SS, BSM (2x), CI (2x), LM (2x), CR, Korean Unit Citation (US), Croix de Guerre (France), Order of St. Olav (Norway), OBE (UK), Ulchi Medal with gold and silver star (Korea)
Today's special forces are continually involved in forward defense, just as stealthy, just as feared.
One day soon we shall hear an astonished Saddam Hussein exclaiming:
singletrack, I love it. Your Dad is my kind of man.
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