I did a search, and while there is mention of the First Special Service Forces in other threads, I didn’t see a thread only about this brigade.

Alastair Neely’s website devoted to the First Special Service Forces

http://www.execulink.com/~kiska/FSSFHomepage.index.html

The site also contains unit diary information and information on the various members of this unique Canadian/American force. I have pulled out a couple of excerpts from the site.

…Conceived in the dark days of 1942, the First Special Service Force was in existence for only two and half years, but during that brief period amassed an illustrious combat record. Starting from scratch, the Canadian and American governments created a multi-national force, which was trained in commando techniques and which would eventually be deployed in both the Pacific and Mediterranean Theatres of Operation. During its brief history, the unit participated in two invasions and four major campaigns. Two books, Robert D. Burhans' The First Special Service Force: A War History of the North Americans 1942-1944 and Robert H. Adleman and Col. George Walton's The Devil's Brigade, and a major motion picture produced by David L. Wolper have paid homage to this unit (Burhans, 1947; Adleman & Walton, 1966). …

…Recruiting
How do you recruit soldiers for a secret mission without divulging too many details, but still giving the soldier enough information to make an informed decision as to whether to volunteer? A Catch 22 situation? No, not really. It would seem from the records that the Canadian and American governments had little problem recruiting for this unit. The opportunity to qualify for paratroopers' wings which meant an increase in pay, the chance to get overseas faster, and to start over again in a new and different type of organization drew people to this unit.

Starting in mid-July 1942 Canadian and American servicemen started to converge on Helena, Montana to start training for their mission. Lt. Col. Frederick was looking for men, who were able to meet extreme physical and endurance requirements. Apart from looking for men with these qualifications, the two countries took different approaches to enlisting men for this unit. American soldiers originating mainly from the American west arrived in trains which had blackout windows as a security measure. In some cases, post commanders had taken the opportunity to empty their stockades and commands of undesirable elements (Adleman & Walton, 1966). These men did not last long in the Force's training and were returned to their original units. At this time, one of the many legends about the Force developed, which asserted that the unit was made up of gangsters, murderers, and mental cases. In viewing the war diaries and associated documents from the time, I think this may had been a rumour generated by the military to keep the civilian population at arms' length from the Force.

Canadians recruited for the Force travelled by rail from Ottawa and western points to Coutts, Alberta just north of the Montana border. The recruiting process in Canada was handled in a very businesslike manner as medical and I.Q. tests were given out to the volunteers in an attempt to weed out unfit soldiers. To gain entry to this unit, the Canadian N.C.O.'s had to pass the I.Q. test with the minimum officer requirements, while the privates had to show their skills at the N.C.O.'s level (Adleman & Walton, 1966). Married soldiers were also advised not to join the Force. Approximately one in six of Canadians who volunteered were sent to Montana. One document, which was to separate the Canadians from the Americans, was the declaration document that had to be signed by all Canadians upon being recruited for this unit (see Appendix A). This document set down the terms and conditions under which the Canadians were to serve in this unit:

(a) service wherever required;
(b) obey orders of American officers and N.C.O.'s;
(c) subject to Canada laws, orders and regulations, and Canadian military discipline;
(d) level of pay would be the same as in rest of the Canadian military (2nd Canadian
Parachute Battalion War Diary, August 1942).

American members of the Force were not required to sign such a document. Lt. Col. Frederick had definite ideas on the standards for the Force's officers. Both an age limit of 35 years and physical requirements to be met were established. Officers had to do everything the enlisted man was required to, but had to do it better and to serve as an example to the men. Under Frederick's direction, the Junior Officers were to be newly commissioned Lieutenants, who had not "been previously conditioned by other commanders" (Adleman & Walton, 1966). For this reason, the Canadian officers were graduates of the Officers Training Centre at Brockville and 90% of the American Lieutenants came from various officer candidate schools (D. Hist. File 145.3011 [D1]). This meant that when the Force landed on Kiska, none of the officers or men had actually been in combat before....

Also, please see http://www.history.ca/devilsbrigade/ This site is about a special program that has a group of Canadian and American soldiers in 2006 re-enact the First Special Service Forces training and scaling of Mt.Defensa. One of the men, Albert Boucher, was one of my co-workers (in an non-military position) who with the North Saskatchewan Regiment had already seen 2 tours in Afghanistan.
The program acknowledged that it could only give a shadow of the true experience of the original First Special Service Force.

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Regards, Michelle

Oliver Goldsmith, "I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines."

That is a great post michelle and really intresting sites i saw devils brigade years ago and also have the books first special service by LT COL burhans, and the black devil brigade by joseph springer,this was one amazing outfit and truly unique as well as undefeated.

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WHEN YOU GO HOME, TELL THEM OF US AND SAY, FOR YOUR TOMORROW,WE GAVE OUR TODAY. Epitaph on the Kohima memorial .

Michelle I did post this about an individual in the 1SSF.

Prince of the Brigade (Devils Brigade)

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

I know JC, and I appreciated it. What eventually happened to Tommy Prince reminds me of Ira Hayes, the Pima who helped raise the Iwo Jima flag. They gave of themselves for their countries and the world, but after the war they returned to lives where their accomplishments were largely disregarded. They had the same struggles as the other Aboriginal Peoples of North America, and they were former Warriors who rarely received the respect they had earned in War.

What appealed to me about the first site on the FSSF was that it had information on some of the individuals who served. For me, it is the stories of the individuals that matters the most as much as what any unit accomplished. As for the second site, knowing and talking with one of them after coming back from the experience was special.

Also, to be honest I also thought it was good to remember how well the Canadians and Americans work together...

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Regards, Michelle

Oliver Goldsmith, "I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines."

Thanks Michelle. And I agree wholeheartedly with you .

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

I'm the "Confederate with a pipe"!! LOL

I read once that in WW1 the commonwealth troops were classified by the Germans as shock troops. Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders were particularly well thought of by the enemy. When American troops arrived they were classified along with the commonwealth troops. (an interesting thing in this book tha tI had never read before was that the Aussies and the American troops took to each other famously, finding alot in common)

Great post, Michelle!

I had forgotten about that movie until you reminded me. I didn't know there was any history involved. But I'm confused...As I remember, the heroes of the movie were fighting Germans, but the reference to Kiska suggests otherwise. Am I missing something?

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David

"It is history that teaches us to hope"
Robert E. Lee

David, go to the website as it explains the history of the force. What I posted was only a minor excerpt of what is there. Kiska was the Force's first battle, and it was assigned to Europe afterwards. The movie was given the usual Hollywood twist and had bits added, smooshed together, fabricated or exagerrated, and completely missed a lot of the story. Mt. La Defensa was only a small piece of their European action. However, I've always loved the movie and at least it inspired me to learn about the FSSF.

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Regards, Michelle

Oliver Goldsmith, "I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines."