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The Black Devil's Brigade

United States - Canadian 
1st Special Service Force in World War II

The origins of the United States 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”, or "Black Devil'sigade".


Some Background

Scientist Geoffrey Pyke, of the British Combined Operations Command, envisioned the creation of a small, élite military force capable of fighting behind enemy lines in winter conditions. This would have been a commando unit that could be landed, by sea or air, into occupied Norway, Romania, and the Italian Alps on sabotage missions against hydroelectric plants and oil fields. In Norway, the chief industrial threat was the creation, at Rjukan, of the heavy water used in the German atomic weapon research. In Romania, there were the strategically important Ploesti  oil fields that met one quarter of the Germans' consumption, and Italian hydroelectric plants powered most of south German industry. Pyke requested that a tracked vehicle be developed especially for the unit, capable of carrying men and their equipment at high speed across snow-covered terrain.

Lord Mountbatten later described him as, "the most unusual and provocative man I have ever met.’ Lord Zuckerman, on the staff of Lord Mountbatten at the time, described him as ‘not a scientist, but a man of a vivid and uncontrollable imagination, and a totally uninhibited tongue".


























Geoffrey Pyke


In March 1942, Geoffrey Pyke proposed an idea, which he had named Project Plough, to Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations Headquarters (COHQ) that Allied commandoes be parachuted into the Norwegian mountains to establish a base on the Jostedalsbreen, a large glacier plateau, for guerrilla actions against the German army of occupation. These troops would be equipped with Pyke's proposed snow vehicle. Pyke persuaded Mountbatten that such a force would be invulnerable in its glacier strongholds and would tie down large numbers of German troops trying to dislodge it.

However, given the demands upon both Combined Operations and the British industry, it was decided to offer theidea to the United States at the Chequers Conference of March 1942. General George Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, accepted the suggestion for Project Plough. In April 1942, since no suitable vehicle existed, the United States government asked automobile manufacturers to look into such a design. Studebaker subsequently created the T-15 cargo carrier, which later became the M29 Weasel.

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The Weasel used as an ambulance.


The Weasel

 One of the First Special Service Force's lasting contributions to the development of Alaska and Northern Canada was the M29 Cargo Carrier, commonly known as the Weasel.  After the war was over, this multi-purpose vehicle preformed a variety of tasks in the north and served the Canadian military until the early 1960's.

























The Weasel model M29C

The vehicle's origins were closely linked to the Force's first mission, Operation Plough. To effectively operate in Europe during wartime conditions, a special multi-purpose type of vehicle needed to be found which could travel over snowy terrain, which was impassable to other heavier means of transport, and be parachuted into enemy territory. To complete its mission, the First Special Service Force' needed a multipurpose vehicle, which could operate in areas impassable to other heavier means of transport.  However, in 1942 no such vehicle existed.















The Weasel going through the swamps.


The urgency the Americans placed on the development of the vehicle can be seen in the fact that for 90 days
during the summer of 1942 this project took precedence over research being done on the B-17 (Lampe, 1959).  The British government in May 1942 turned this development project over to the Americans, who in turn approached the National Research Council of Canada, because of their research into snow. 

The Canadian Department of Munitions had already been working on a snowmobile and had produced a proto-type called the "Penguin" (Stacey, 1966).   Technique specifications of Operation Plough were different so the United States continued to design their own vehicle.  A joint committee of scientists from Canada, United States, Great Britain, and Norway was struck to investigate the problem.  G. L. Klein of the Mechanical Engineering Division of the National Research Council was the senior Canadian representative (Eggleston, 1950).  The mission requirements stated that the vehicle needed to be fast, have a low profile, the ability to manoeuvre in deep, soft snow, and climb steep grades (Lampe, 1959).  The Canadians had been experimenting with vehicles from 1934 to 1939 and therefore  they were able to contribute technical knowledge to the project.  

Canadian expertise  was useful in the design of the track tread which was fabricated from reinforced rubber material, spacing of wheels, and the importance of creating a low centre of gravity to reduce and distribute to weight of the vehicle over a larger area (Eggleston, 1950).
















The Weasel was tested in the Columbian Ice Fields near Lake Louise, Alberta, and even before the final modifications had been made a contract for their construction had been awarded to the United States' Studebaker Corporation to build  600 Weasels (Burhans, 1947).  Other tests were held against vehicles such as the  Bombardier which was a forerunner of the Skidoo and professional skiers to test the machine's endurance. 

One particular test involved a race between man and machine over a three mile course.  Qualified skiers from the 87th Mountain Infantry detachment raced and lost against the Weasel (Burhans, 1947). The one drawback to the Weasel in terms of the Force and the mission was its size.  Despite trying to keep it small, the dimensions grew to 10 feet 5 3/4 inches long by 5 feet 6 inches wide by 5 feet 11 inches high.

The British Lancaster Bomber was the only aircraft capable of transporting the vehicle into Europe. Bomber
Command's lack of support for the project has been cited by some as a reason for the cancelation of Operation Plough. Bomber Command had a limited number of Lancasters and therefore could not support this operation.

Once Operation Plough was cancelled, the Weasel continued to play an important role in the history of the Force.




















The Force did not take any Weasels with them to Kiska, but other units did and it operated well over the tundra conditions of the island.  Fully loaded, the vehicle would weigh 5,277 pounds, but because of its low centre of gravity and specially designed treads, it exerted only one-sixth of the pressure of an army truck and less than one-third of the pressure of a soldier (Eggleston, 1950).





















This made it ideal for Arctic conditions since it could go almost anywhere.  When the Force was deployed overseas to Italy later in 1943, they took a full complement of Weasels with them and utilized them in Italy and Southern France.

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Planners intended to use the force to attack hydroelectric plants in occupied Norway, oil fields in Romania, and even targets in Russia. Because neither Britian nor Norway could supply the troops, this new unit would be comprised of American and Canadian soldiers. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, head of the War Plans Division, gave one of his staff officers, LTC Robert T. Frederick, the assignment of studying the idea, codenamed Project Plough. On June 16, 1942 Eisenhower gave Frederick the task of organizing and commanding the unit that would become known as the First Special Service Force.


























Lt, Col, Robert T  Frederick


In May 1942,  the concept papers for Plough were scrutinized  by Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick,  a young officer  in the Operations Division  of the U.S. General Staff.  His report identified many drawbacks with it,  including the unit's organization and how it was to withdraw once its mission had been completed.


























Howard Ravenscroft Johnson


The first officer that was picked to lead the unit was Lt. Col. H. R. Johnson. He resigned as soon as he met the eccentric Geoffrey Pyke. His replacement was suggested by Lord Mountbatten and assigned by Gen. Eisenhower:

Lt. Col. Frederick himself was given the task of creating a fighting unit for Project Plough and was promoted to colonel to command it, and by July 1942, had eased Geoffrey Pyke out of the picture.

Colonel Frederick enjoyed a very high priority in obtaining equipment and training areas. Originally, due to its winter warfare mission, it had been intended that the unit should be equally made up of American, Canadian, and Norwegian troops. However, a lack of suitable Norwegians saw this changed to half U.S. and half Canadian.

The volunteers for the 1600 man force consisted primarily of enlisted men recruited by advertising at Army posts, stating that preference was to be given to men previously employed as lumberjacks, forest rangers, hunters, game wardens, and the like.

After receiving his orders, colonel  Robert Frederick began to organize a staff, obtain American and Canadian volunteers, and locate a place to train the new unit.




















Properly designated as the 1st Special Service Force, the Devil's Brigade was a joint World War II American- Canadian commando unit trained at Fort Harrison near Helena, Montana in the United States.












































James Layton Ralston


In July 1942, the Canadian Minister of National Defence, James Ralston, approved the assignment of 697 officers and enlisted men for the project under the initial disguise that they were forming the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1CPB). Shortly after, due to the decision to raise a parachute school in Canada under the 1CPB designation, the Canadian volunteers served under the unofficial designation of 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion.

This was in name only, the 2CPB did not legally exist. (The Canadians would not be legally made into a unit of the Canadian Army until April - May 1943 under the official designation, 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion) They would be paid by the Canadian government but be supplied with uniforms, equipment, food, shelter and travel expenses by the U.S. They also remained subject to their own army's code of discipline.

The U.S. volunteers for the force consisted initially of officers from Fort Belvoir and Benning and enlisted men recruited by advertising at Army posts, stating that preference was to be given to men previously employed as lumberjacks, forest rangers, hunters, game wardens, and the like. Col.Frederick then named this force the First Special Service Force (FSSF).

The First Special Service 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 First Special Service Force would have approximately 2,300 officers and men.




The new formation patch was a red spearhead with the words USA written horizontally and CANADA written vertically.

The branch of service insignia was the crossed arrows which were formerly worn by the United.States. Army Indian Scouts. The First Special Service Force wore red, white, and blue piping on their garrison cap and on the breast, an oval, (or trimming), behind their Parachutist Wings.  Members of the unit also wore a red, white, and blue fourragère, lanyard,  or shoulder cord made out of parachute shroud lines.



















1st Special Service Force Training.

Training was arduous - Force members received rigorous and intensive training in stealth tactics, parachuting, skiing, ski warfare, mountain climbing, mountain warfare, and amphibious warfare. Everything was done "at the double" and their physical conditioning was aided by calisthenics, obstacle courses, and long marches with hundred-pound packs.

Each man learned how to handle explosives and to use every weapon in the Force's extensive arsenal. Hand-to-hand combat, night fighting, and use of captured weapons rounded out the training program. These specialized skills were necessary, for the Force members were to become shock troops, frequently raiding strategic positions and often parachuting behind enemy lines. Their effectiveness would eventually earn them the nickname, "the Black Devil's Brigade".














As a light infantry unit destined for alpine or winter combat, it was issued various items of non-standard clothing, equipment, and rations, including skis, parkas, haversacks, and the Mountain ration. From the outset, the 1st Special Service Force was armed with a variety of non-standard or limited-issue weapons, such as the M1941 .30 Caliber Johnson machine gun which was issued with a spare barrel of longer length.




















The .30 Caliber Johnson Light Machine Gun in particular helped greatly increase the firepower of the unit and it weighed considerably less than other similar weapons and was highly regarded by those who used it in combat.

























Col. Frederick himself participated in the design of a fighting knife made exclusively for the Force called the V-42 combat knife, a derivative of the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife.


















The First Special Service Force was activated on July 9, 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.

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Lieutenant Colonel Robert Tryon Frederick
(1907-1970)

Original Commander of the 1st Special Service Force.

He assembled, organized, trained, and Commanded the 1st Special Service Force. Robert Tryon Frederick was a highly decorated American combat commander during World War II, who commanded the famous "Devil's Brigade" during World War II. He served as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Special Forces from 1942 to 1944, the Commanding General of the 1st Airborne Division in 1944 and the Commanding General of the 45th Division, North-West Europe from 1944 to 1945.He had been wounded eight times - at Anzio he was wounded a number of times, including two separate wounds on a single day.

Robert T. Frederick received eight Purple Hearts. All eight Purple Hearts were earned for service during World War II (also awarded two Distinguished Service Crosses for service during World War II).


























He was so highly esteemed that Winston Churchill had this to say about the man:: "Robert Frederick was 'the greatest fighting general of all time' and 'if we had had a dozen more like him we would have smashed Hitler in 1942'".

Gen. Robert T. Frederick retired from active duty in 1952.

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Uniform & Gear

Field Uniform
M43 Field Jacket c/w 1 SSF patch and hood
M41 Field Jacket c/w 1 SSF patch
Mountain trousers c/w suspenders x 2
Mountain cap
Utility cap
Goggles, Ski
Scarves, wool
Wool knitted cap (jeep)
Steel helmet, M1 c/w liner and net cover set
Gloves, combat pair
Socks, wool or olive drab pairs
Combat boots pair
Snow gaiters (mountain) pair
Long underwear sets
Singlets, OD
Shirts, wool (c/w 1 SSF patch each)
Undershorts, OD
White snow covers, jacket, trousers, helmet and rucksack set


Weapons
M3 Fighting Knife with M8Scabbard
Case V-42 fighting knife with horsehide sheath
M-1905 Bayonet with M3 Scabbard
M1 Bayonet with M7 Scabbard
Mountain Pocket Knife
M-1911A1 .45 Caliber Automatic Pistol
M-1 "Garand" .30 Caliber Rifle
M-1A1 Carbine .30 Caliber
M-1A1 Thompson .45 Caliber Submachine Gun
M-1918A2 Browning .30 Caliber Automatic Rifle
M-1919A4 Browning .30 Caliber Machine Gun
M-1941 Johnson .30 Caliber Light Machine Gun
M-1941 Johnson .30 Caliber Automatic Rifle
M-1 2.36-inch "Bazooka" Anti-tank Rocket Launcher
M-1 Flame Thrower
60mm Mortar with M-2 Mount
M-6A1 and M-6A2 Anti-tank Rockets
Mk-IIA1 Fragmentation Grenade
Watch the weapons videos

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Melvin M. Johnson Jr

Melvin Maynard Johnson Jr. was born in August of 1909 into an affluent Boston, Massachusetts family. His father was a well known University Professer, College President, author and also the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Master Masons of Massachussetts.

From an early age he drew a fascination from firearms and how they were designed. He attended Noble and Greenough School and then Harvard Law School, from where he graduated in 1934, practicing law in Boston until 1939. He also taught Law at Harvard for a short time.

Commissioned into the Marine Corps Reserve in 1933 as a Second Lieutenant. During this time he attended various Marine Corps firearms schools and courses including those held in Quantico, Virginia.

He was posted as the Corps' observer at the Springfield Armory, reporting on the Garand and Pederson trials being held there. Not being impressed by either design he designed a retarded blowback operated rifle in 1935. Johnson held four United States Patents on various design features used in his rifle.

He set up the Johnson Automatics Trust in Brookline, Mass., with the aid of his father, then moving to the India Building , located at 84 State Street in Boston. This building is located opposite the Boston Stock Exchange. The Trust, later Johnson Automatics Inc. found production facilities first at the Taft Peirce plant and then in Cranston, both situated in Rhode Island.

The model '41 rifles were manufactured under the "Cranston Arms Company Inc." name, which was a sub-division of Universal Windings, at whose factory they were made in Cranston.
 




















Mr. Johnson also designed the Johnson Light Machine Gun which was issued to US Forces in larger numbers than his rifle, again to specialized army and marine units. Both models of which (the 1941 and the 1944) saw action in all theaters of operation in World War 2.

Johnson Automatics also contracted to the United States Government to supply new barrels for World War 1 Model 1917 'Enfield' rifles refurbishment programs.

Due to his specilaised work in the area of firearms design the USMC kept him in an inactive capacity throughout World War 2 to help the war effort.








































After World War 2, Johnson diversified his production into the civilian market, converting surplus '41's and making air rifles. In the early fifties Johnson went to work for Winchester's as a designer and advisor to John Olin, Winchester's Chairman, but only after he had forced Winchester to purchase his company and its remaining stock.


























Johnson Also had his custom shop located in Hope Valley, Rhode Island where he made custom conversions of surplus bolt action rifles into 'state of the art' hunting rifles by converting them to .270 or other high power chambers.



























He rose to the rank of Colonel after transferring from Marine Corps Reserve to the Army Ordnance Corps Reserve in 1949. In 1951 he was appointed as weapons consultant to the Secretary of Defense.

Melvin M. Johnson Jr. died on January 9, 1965, in New York, N. Y., at the age of 55.

He was married the famous U.S. Tennis star Virginia Bingham Rice and the father of three sons, Melvin M. 3rd., Edward R., Byron B., and a daughter Gail V. Johnson.


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Unique weapons

M-1941 Johnson .30 Caliber Light Machine Gun




















Case V-42 fighting knife with horsehide sheath


Battles Of The First Special Service Force

Aleutians campaign, 1943
    * Kiska and Little Kiska - August 15-August 19, 1943
    * Segula Island - August 17, 1943

Italian (Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno) campaigns 1943-1944
    * Monte la Difensa, Rocca d'Evandro - December 3-December 6, 1943
    * Monte la Remetanea, Rocca d'Evandro - December 6-December 9, 1943
    * Monte Sambúcaro, S.Pietro-S.Vittore - December 25 (Christmas Day), 1943
    * Radicosa, S.Vittore - January 4, 1944
    * Monte Majo - January 6, 1944
    * Monte Vischiataro - January 8, 1944
    * Anzio - February 2-May 10, 1944
    * Monte Arrestino - May 25, 1944
    * Rocca Massima - May 27, 1944
    * Colle Ferro - June 2, 1944
    * Rome - June 4, 1944

Southern France, (Alpes-Maritimes) campaign, 1944
    * Port Cros - August 15, 1944
    * Îles d'Hyères - August 15-August 17, 1944
    * Grasse - August 24, 1944
    * Villeneuve-Loubet - August 26, 1944
    * Vence - September 1, 1944
    * Drap - September 3, 1944
    * L'Escarène - September 5, 1944
    * La Turbie - September 6, 1944
    * Menton - September 7, 1944

Rhineland campaign, 1944
    * Franco-Italian border - September 7 - November 30, 1944

Their first scheduled operation was code named "Project Plough," a mission to parachute into German-held Norway to knock out strategic targets such as hydroelectric power plants. This operation had to be abandoned.


























Major Thomas Coy Gordon.


Thomas C. Gordon first joined the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps at Queen’s University where he received his commission as lieutenant.  He later volunteered for and joined the Combined U.S.- Canadian First Special Service Force in 1942.  It was with the Devil’s Brigade that he fought in Italy prior to D-Day.  T. C. Gordon was wounded as his unit was taking Rome.  However, after a few months in hospital, he saw more action in Marseilles and Toulon, Cannes and Nice.  All the while, fighting in the mountains.

On August 15, 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 United States, the First Special Service Force was reassigned to the Mediterranean Theater and the fighting on the Italian peninsula.

In October of 1943 the commander of the United States Fifth Army, Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, brought the 1st Special Service Force to Italy where its members demonstrated the value of their unique skills and training.

The Force arrived in Naples on 19 November 19, 1943 and went into the line at Santa Maria with the 36th Infantry Division. On February 2, they took up positions on the Allies right flank.




















1st Special Service Force, in an M-2 60mm. mortar pit.


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.

























Five men of a machine gun squad from the 2nd Regiment, FSSF, prepare their 10-in-1 ration supper in the extreme cold.



















A German Pillbox guards an approach to Mount Lungo. Machine-gun bunkers, mortar emplacements, and personnel shelters were made of local stone and in a setting of rock walls were invisible at a distance. Timbers and ties supported their overhead cover. Direct hits of heavy mortar shells did not penetrate them.

By the time the First Special Service Force was pulled out of the line in the middle of January, it had an impressive record.






















At Mount la Difensa they immediately earned a reputation for being able to take impenetrable objectives when no one else could. Here, in early December, in the dead of winter, the Special Force wiped out a strategic enemy defensive position sitting high atop a mountain surrounded by steep cliffs. The Force stormed and captured Mount La Difensa, a major hill mass blocking the Fifth Army’s advance which had been unsuccessfully assaulted by a number of other Allied units.




















Following a bloody, six-day battle, Mount la Remetanea was captured. Its first involvement in the Italian campaign cost the First Special Service Force 511 casualties, including 73 fatalities.

Previously, American forces had suffered many casualties in futile attempts to take the important target. This
incident was the basis for the 1968 motion picture titled "The Devil's Brigade."





















The many ridges rise steeply toward Mt, Mojo.


In late December 1943 and early January 1944, the Force captured Mount Sammucro and Mount Mojo and held them against heavy odds.






















After securing Mojo, it drove the enemy from Hills 1109 and 1270, and other Fifth Army formations cleared the Germans from east of Cassino.




















Due in large part to this elite Canadian-American unit, the Fifth Army was finally ready to launch its long awaited offensive on Rome. The Force was now sent to Anzio.


























































Personnel of the First Special Service Force being briefed before setting out on a patrol. Lt. H. Rayner of Toronto in foreground.





















1st Special Service Force, preparing to go on an evening patrol in the Anzio beachhead.


 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 soldier was referring to them as "black" because the brigade's members smeared their faces with black boot polish for their covert operations in the dark of the night.




































Forcemen of the First Special Service Force preparing to go on an evening patrol in the Anzio beachhead.




















Forcemen of the First Special Service Force who received medals in the Anzio beachhead. April 20, 1944.


Canadian and American members of the Special Force who lost their lives are buried near the beach in the Commonwealth Anzio War Cemetery and the American Cemetery in Nettuno, just east of Anzio.




















The Force seized key bridges south of Rome and entered the city with other Allied units on June 4. The Devil's Brigade was given the assignment of capturing seven essential bridges in the city to prevent the German Army from blowing them up.



















During the night of June 4th, members of the Devil’s Brigade entered Rome. After they secured the bridges, they quickly moved north in pursuit of the retreating Germans.


























The following morning, throngs of grateful Romans lined the streets to give the long columns of American soldiers passing through the city a tumultuous reception.

War photographers captured the scenes of joy on film to be seen back home, but the soldiers who actually liberated the city had passed through Rome during the early morning hours in darkness and near silence and were again in fierce combat with the Germans along a twenty-mile front on the Tiber River.

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.

























Forcemen of the First Special Service Force with a Browning light machine gun


However, the Force’s time was almost up. Following the taking of Italy, on August 14, 1944 the Brigade was
shipped to Iles d'Hyères in the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Southern France. As part of the U.S. 7th Army, they fought again with distinction in numerous battles.























An uidentified major of the First Special Service Force -  1944, Anzio, Italy.

On September 7th, they moved to the Franco-Italian border in what is called the "Rhineland Campaign." Members of the Brigade, usually traveling by foot at night, made their way behind enemy lines to provide intelligence on German positions. This operation not only contributed to the liberation of Europe, but the information Brigade members were able to pass back to headquarters saved many Allied soldier's lives.

On December 5, 1944, the Force (The Devil's Brigade), a one-of-a-kind military unit that never failed to achieve its objective, 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.

















1st Special Service Force dress uniforms.


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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A large number of the Devil's Brigade members were honored for their acts of valor, including Tommy Prince, Canada's most decorated aboriginal soldier of WW II.























Within Canada's largest military gravesite, Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg, is the final resting place of Thomas George Prince. His tombstone is like all the others, a simple monument of white stone, with an inscribed cross below which are his name, mention of two medals, his rank, the units in which he served and the date he died, Nov. 25, 1977, at age 62.

























What the headstone does not reveal is that the medals are but two of 11, and that Tommy Prince was Canada's most decorated aboriginal war veteran. Tommy Prince made significant contributions to his country during two wars. But during his lifetime, he was largely ignored - thanks to his race and the prejudice that marked his era. Prince was just one of the estimated 12,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis people who served in the two World Wars and the Korean War.

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Many the "Black Devils" have kept in touch after the war.  Years after the war, there was a report of an elderly Force veteran who got an unexpected telephone call from another veteran who was quietly dying in a nursing home. In a weak inquisitive voice his friend asked “We really took that mountain, didn’t we?”


New Elite Units

In 1952, Col. Aaron Bank would create another elite unit using the training, the strategies, and the lessons
learned from the Devil's Brigade's missions. This force would evolve into specialized forces such as the Green Berets, Delta Force, and the Navy SEAL. In Canada, today's elite and highly secretive JTF2 military unit is also modeled on the Devil's Brigade. Like World War II, Canadian JTF2 members and American Deta Force members were united again into a special assignment force for the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.

In September of 1999, the main highway between the city of Lethbridge, Alberta Canada and Helena, Montana in the United States was renamed the "First Special Service Force Memorial Highway." This highway was chosen because it was the route taken in 1942 by the Canadian volunteers to join their American counterparts for training at Fort Harrison.


Media Depictions

Perhaps best known from a mildly accurate movie "The Devil's Brigade "is a 1968 film starring William Holden, Cliff Robertson, and Vince Edwards, focusing on the Force's training and deployment to Italy. The group’s members derived their nickname from the Germans defending their lines in Italy against the Allied onslaught. 

The movie makes them look like the friends of the Dirty Dozen. However, although numerous Army post commanders did use the opportunity to clean out their stockades, most of the people who made up the FSSF were tough guys, which the organizers were after. Lumberjacks, trappers, wilderness guides, very tough, very macho.

Two documentaries have been made about the Force: Daring to Die: The Story of the Black Devils, written and irected by Greg Hancock and Wayne Abbot,and Devil's Brigade, a 2006 TV miniseries produced by Frantic Films.

The comic book character Wolverine was depicted as having been a member of the Devil's Brigade in North Africa.Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds features a character named Lt. Aldo Raine aka "Aldo the Apache" played by Brad Pitt. Raine appears to be a member of the 1st Special Service Force, as he is seen wearing the unit's crossed arrows collar insignia and red arrowhead shoulder patch. The character also mentioned being dropped into Italy (where he apparently learned some Italian), a country where the Devil's Brigade was deployed. The inclusion of this detail is likely a nod to the film depiction of The Devil's Brigade which Tarantino cited as an influence for Inglourious Basterds.

























A Veteran is someone who at one point in their life wrote a blank check made payable to "The People of My Country", for an amount "up to, and including their life".






































"As our heroes leave us and time fades the memories of the extraordinary sacrifices made at places far away, I hope that our society will not give in to the temptations of apathy and complacency that are often the unintended consequences of freedom. "


Others Who  Gave All

Sergeant Lorine E. Phillips was a high climber logger from Oregon before entering the service. He gave his life in action while jumping over Italy on Christmas Day, (December 25, 1943).  He was a member of the 2 Regiment (6 Company) and was from from Van Port City, Portland, Jackson County, Oregon.

Sergeant Lorine E.Phillips was survived by his wife and infant son.  He is listed on the Special Forces Roll of Honor. 
 


Special Forces Roll Of Honor