Back when the goal was total victory and unconditional surrender.
Via Helena IR
Cowboys, lumberjacks, miners and mountaineers came together in Helena to form a band of unlikely heroes during World War II.
The elite, top-secret military unit, formed from both Canadian and U.S. soldiers in July 1942, trained at Fort Harrison from August 1942 to April 1943.
“The Helena community opened their arms to them, inviting them home to dinner and to church,” said Bill Woon, chairman of the FSSF Association.
And this weekend is another opportunity for Helena to show its appreciation. The veterans meet in Helena this week for their 68th annual reunion. The public is invited to take part in a commemorative service at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Memorial Park. Fifteen of the original members are expected to attend, several of whom also attended World War II 70th anniversary events in Europe earlier this year.
The brigade’s daring feats and successes would make it the model for such units as the Green Berets, Navy SEALS and Delta Force decades later.
Even the name of the unit, First Special Service Force, was deceptive, said Woon, whose father served in the force. It was a name that was meant to give the impression to spies that this was a service organization, much like the USO.
Of the original 1,800-man fighting force that trained in Helena, only 153 are still alive, Woon said. They were the first allied unit to enter Rome on June 4, 1944. It was their daring nighttime offensive up a sheer mountainside, taking the top of Monte La Difensa from the Germans, which would be key to liberating Rome.
They also played a major role at Anzio, holding an 8-mile flank with a mere 1,200 men, against the 12,000-man Hermann Goering Division.