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First, they arrived at the Aleutians to find the islands abandoned
by the Japanese. Then they were sent to Italy, where they would
engage the enemy for the first time. They never lost a battle.
At Anzio, some 1,100 forcemen would successfully defend
their beachhead against 10,000 Nazis. They were so terrifying
to the Germans that they issued an edict about them: "The first
soldier or group of soldiers capturing one of these men will be
granted a 10-day furlough." But what was 10 days away from the
front compared to an eternity in the dirt?
In their 214 days of fighting, the Devil's Brigade would kill
12,000 Axis personnel and take 7,000 prisoners.
After the war, many of the 1st Special Services Force who had
survived, like Joe Glass and Mark Radcliffe, moved back to Hel-
ena. They loved the town, or they had left wives and sweethearts
there, waiting for them. They settled down. Those who stayed
in Helena started families and businesses, nurtured them, and
grew old with them.
Last year was the 80th anniversary of the Devil's Brigade's
parade through Last Chance Gulch in Helena, the beautiful,
almost alpine town where the men of the force first learned to
kill. Today, visitors will stop and stare at their wickedly sharp
knives behind glass at the Montana Historical Society Museum
and the Museum at Fort Henry Harrison in Helena.
Anyone who sees the V-42 cannot help but imagine the flash
of those blades in the night, the near-silent strike that pierces,
kills, and withdraws into the darkness.
Towers such as these
were set up at Fort
Harrison to facilitate
paratrooper training.
