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The "mugshot" photos are scans of negatives that Special Forces Historians were given from the Association and they scanned them for us. Huge thanks to Ken Finlayson and Earl Moniz and their team for all the hard work.
This grouping of 1-1 has 89 total photos
This grouping of 1-1 has 89 total photos
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Carl William (Tiny) Beacon
1 Regiment (1 Company) Rank: Sergeant Number: K/68947 Award: Mention in Despatches Place: France 1944 Additional Information: Canada from Osoyoos,British Columbia,Canada also served P.P.C.L.I. and Black Watch died 17.5.2007 photo submitted by his daughter-in-law Lynda Beacon |
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John S Gibbon
1 Regiment (1 Company) Rank: Sergeant Number: G/153501 Date Of Death: 28th November 1943 Age: 20 Gravesite: Naples War Cemetery,Italy III.E.16 Additional Information: Canada born 18.7.1923 Saint John,New Brunswick son of James Arnold and Eva Marian Gibbon,Fredericton,New Brunswick Killed when bazooka exploded during a test fire in Santa Maria,Italy |
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Howard W Gray
1-1 (in Burhans) He trained in Camp Hale and was ready to go when they shipped out to Italy. Unfortunately, he broke his ankle in training at the end. He wasn’t allowed to ship out with the rest of his buddies. He was forced to transfer to the 10th Mountain Division where he underwent additional training at Camp Swift, Austin, Texas. He did make it to Italy in the combat engineers for the 10th Mt. Div. They were responsible for clearing the tunnels and roads in northern Italy around the Lake Garda region. His group built the bridge over the Po River which the Germans had bombed as they retreated. He is buried at the Santa Fe VA Cemetery, Feb. 28, 1988. Photo and info submitted by daughter Linda Gray Barbee |
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R. A. MacDonald
1st Lt 1-1 North Devon N.B. |
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Andrew O. Olson
Sergeant 1 Regiment (1 Company) Glaslyn,Saskatchewan WIA 9.1.1944 He started in 1-1 and transfered to 4-1. |
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Ole Johannes Pedersen
1-1 Burlington, Vermont Enlisted in Regina Sk. Regimental #L-56049. Rank Sgt. Assigned to 110th Field Battery R.C.A. {CA}. Assigned to FSSF August 1, 1942 Montana, USA. Served in occupation of Kiska, Africa, & Italy. Wounded in Italy hospitalized from May 1944 till August, 1944. He was shipped to UK & Canada. Discharged August 9, 1945. Photos and info submitted by daughter Elly Crawford |
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I was able to meet up with Mark Radcliffe along with Joe Glass in March of 2008 and forgot to take a picture with them. However some of Mark's stories I still remember and I will forever cherish the time he took to speak with me. I am proud to say that I have met Mark and that he was friends with my Grandfather Herb Goodwin.
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Mark Radcilffe
Captain Hq Det 1-1 Mark Radcliffe of the First Special Service Force, while on patrol on the Anzio beachhead before the Allies broke the German defenses, was captured by the Nazis. He was then taken to La Torre for questioning by a German officer. “All I was giving was my name, rank and serial number,” Radcliffe relates. “Suddenly he whacked me across the throat with a 14-inch rubber truncheon.” About then the interrogation was interrupted when Allied artillery started shelling the area. Radcliffe’s captors scattered for shelter, leaving only one German to guard three prisoners. “When he wasn’t looking, I hit him over the back of the head with a piece of wood, and we escaped,” Radcliffe said. The GIs worked their way back to the Allied line, traveling at night and hiding in trees during the day. On the third day, Radcliffe was almost back to his outfit when he was spotted and hit by mortar shrapnel, severing some tendons in his ankle. When Sgt. Erickson found his immobile company commander, he began banging Radcliffe’s head on the ground, demanding “Where the hell have you been?!” |
Radcliffe was born in Farmington, N.M., in 1918, and graduated from high school in Albuquerque in 1937. He was ordered into active duty in 1941 to Fort Lewis as part of the 41st Division. He deployed to the South Pacific as Operations Sergeant Headquarters of the 161st Infantry Regiment, but before he saw any combat he was selected for Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga.
After graduating OCS in July 1942, he was selected to participate in the Plough Project at Fort Harrison in Helena. In early August, while attending a dance at the Armory, Radcliffe’s buddy called him “chicken” if he didn’t approach one particular girl. So he asked her to dance, and it was “love at first sight.” The wedding took place a month later, and this September Mark and Edith (Bauer) Radcliffe will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.
Radcliffe shipped out to North Africa with the FSSF as Commander of the 3rd Company, 3rd Regiment. He was involved in the conquests of Mount la Difensa and Mount Majo in southern Italy in the freezing winter of 1943-44, and then the force was assigned to assist at the Anzio beachhead.
After his escape, Radcliffe was transported to the hospital in Naples. He decided to return to the FSSF, in spite of the Army’s standing orders that all wounded were to be sent to Repo-Depo.
“When I got back to Force Headquarters I was AWOL from the hospital. General Fredericks then assigned me to a special mission,” Radcliffe recalls.
He was instructed by Major General Keyes to lead an independent corps reconnaissance mission along Highway 6 and penetrate Rome prior to the main entry.
“I was told the reason an officer from the force was selected was because of the FSSF’s ability to get the job done,” Radcliffe says.
They departed II Corps Headquarters on June 3, 1944, with intentions of joining the Ellis Task Force, which was spearheading the drive on Rome. But after passing a convoy, which they learned later was the task force, near Frascati and encountering enemy fire, the mission turned out to be a lot more than just public relations. They engaged in several skirmishes along the way, and then at 6 a.m. on June 4, Radcliffe’s special corps patrol passed through Rome’s Porta San Giovanni gate, one-half hour before any other Allied unit.
Radcliffe returned to Helena after the war (some of his medals include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with cluster and the Purple Heart with two clusters), where he and Edith raised their children, Bob and Carolyn. He spent a career in civil engineering and stayed involved with the armed forces in the Army Reserves and, more recently, with the Montana Military Museum.
Nowadays, whenever his throat hurts and goes hoarse, it reminds Radcliffe of a certain truncheon-wielding Nazi officer in La Torre, Italy.
Taken from the Helena Independant Record http://www.helenair.com/articles/2002/08/17/stories/helena/6a1.txt
After graduating OCS in July 1942, he was selected to participate in the Plough Project at Fort Harrison in Helena. In early August, while attending a dance at the Armory, Radcliffe’s buddy called him “chicken” if he didn’t approach one particular girl. So he asked her to dance, and it was “love at first sight.” The wedding took place a month later, and this September Mark and Edith (Bauer) Radcliffe will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.
Radcliffe shipped out to North Africa with the FSSF as Commander of the 3rd Company, 3rd Regiment. He was involved in the conquests of Mount la Difensa and Mount Majo in southern Italy in the freezing winter of 1943-44, and then the force was assigned to assist at the Anzio beachhead.
After his escape, Radcliffe was transported to the hospital in Naples. He decided to return to the FSSF, in spite of the Army’s standing orders that all wounded were to be sent to Repo-Depo.
“When I got back to Force Headquarters I was AWOL from the hospital. General Fredericks then assigned me to a special mission,” Radcliffe recalls.
He was instructed by Major General Keyes to lead an independent corps reconnaissance mission along Highway 6 and penetrate Rome prior to the main entry.
“I was told the reason an officer from the force was selected was because of the FSSF’s ability to get the job done,” Radcliffe says.
They departed II Corps Headquarters on June 3, 1944, with intentions of joining the Ellis Task Force, which was spearheading the drive on Rome. But after passing a convoy, which they learned later was the task force, near Frascati and encountering enemy fire, the mission turned out to be a lot more than just public relations. They engaged in several skirmishes along the way, and then at 6 a.m. on June 4, Radcliffe’s special corps patrol passed through Rome’s Porta San Giovanni gate, one-half hour before any other Allied unit.
Radcliffe returned to Helena after the war (some of his medals include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with cluster and the Purple Heart with two clusters), where he and Edith raised their children, Bob and Carolyn. He spent a career in civil engineering and stayed involved with the armed forces in the Army Reserves and, more recently, with the Montana Military Museum.
Nowadays, whenever his throat hurts and goes hoarse, it reminds Radcliffe of a certain truncheon-wielding Nazi officer in La Torre, Italy.
Taken from the Helena Independant Record http://www.helenair.com/articles/2002/08/17/stories/helena/6a1.txt
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John M Skelton
Private 1 Regiment (1 Company,1 Bn) Canada former Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada |
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Photos and info submitted by George's friend Steve Cook
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George W Wright
Private 1 Regiment (1 Company,1 Bn)_ Canada former Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Silver Star "Sergeant, Infantry, Canadian Army. For gallantry in action, on the night of 15-16 February 1944, near Borgo Sabotino, Italy. Sergeant Wright and a fellow solider were assigned an outpost position at the point along the front defended by his regiment. At dawn approximately 35 Germans struck this section of the outpost line, and in the opening fire fight Sergeant Wright's assistant was wounded in the leg and arm. Sergeant Wright ordered his companion to retire. In order to cover the wounded man's withdrawal, he recovered the gunner’s Johnston LMG and magazine pouch and advanced toward the enemy, firing the automatic rife from his hip. Although he placed himself in an extremely dangerous position by advancing alone towards the enemy, he succeeded in delaying the hostile advance sufficiently to permit his comrade to withdraw. Sergeant Wright then made a fighting withdrawal to his own main line of resistance. His courage and regard for the welfare of a fellow soldier reflect the high traditions of the military service. Entered military service from Picton, Ontario Canada." George Wright wrote a book entitled "The Road That I Have Traveled" that is a rare find these days. So George gave us permission to add it onto the website. |