14-093 Garand Picture of the Day - The devils brigade

[Mark in Rochester]

Personnel being briefed before setting out on a patrol at the Anzio beachhead

Last of the Devil’s Brigade: Final surviving members of elite WWII commando unit die
on April 5, 2012 at 08:53

Two veterans, who survived in one of the deadliest commando units of World War Two, have died in their nineties with hours of each other.

Mark Radcliffe, 94, and 92-year-old Joe Glass both passed away within 12 hours of each other on Sunday. They were the last surviving members of an elite Second World War unit. The commandos were nicknamed the ‘Black Devils’ by the Nazis because of their formidable force. ‘Mark and Joe were two of the original members of the First Special Service Force, and it’s appropriate that they were the last two survivors in the state,’ FSSF aficionado Bill Woon told the Helena Independent Record.

Joe Glass was born in Ontario, Canada in 1920. After high school, he worked on a steamboat on the Great Lakes before signing up to the Canadian Army in 1940. Mark Radcliffe was born in Farmington, New Mexico in 1918. He began active duty in 1941 and was deployed to the South Pacific. He was stationed in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941. Both men were selected in 1942 for the Plough Project – described as a ‘suicide mission’ and trained together at Fort Harrison in Helena, Montana.

Mr Radcliffe was married to his wife Edith for more than 60 years after they met while at a dance for the troops and local girls in the Montana town. The couple had two children Bob and Carolyn. For his bravery Mr Radcliffe received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with cluster and the Purple Heart with two clusters.

Last of the Devils Brigade: Final surviving members of elite WWII commando unit die - WAR HISTORY ONLINE


Friends til the end: Joe Glass (pictured left) and Mark Radcliffe (right) died within 12 hours of each other on Sunday in Montana. They were among the last surviving members of an elite Second World War unit

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.