1st Special Service Force veteran

[Kyt]

Man earns medal for showing his mettle

http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=76288&sc=89

Second World War veteran Aubrey Spidle says until recently, he didn't often talk about the 99 days straight he spent fighting with a secret unit in the trenches of Italy.

But the 86-year-old now speaks freely of his experience with the 1st Special Service Force, the elite U.S-Canadian joint unit that the Germans dubbed the Black Devils for their fearsome track record, and habit of using shoe polish to camouflage their faces.

"Here I am getting older, and it's all coming back to me. I can lay in bed nights and go right through the whole bloody works," said the Mahone Bay resident.

The secret unit, commonly called the Devil's Brigade, was the first of its kind. Its 1,800 members are credited with paving the way for modern elite forces.

Washington last year awarded the Bronze Star to the Canadian soldiers who served in the Devil's Brigade. Spidle said he was "very proud" receive his in the mail about a month ago.

"The Black Devils never lost a battle, but we had a lot of casualties. We had a lot killed, and a lot wounded ... I'm thankful to be alive," he said.

Spidle was overseas with the Cape Breton Highlanders when he volunteered for the Devil's Brigade.

"My buddy said to me, 'If you go, I'll go.' But the catch was, we had to have a medical, and I passed the medical and he didn't. Therefore I had to go alone," Spidle said.

After completing training, he fought the battle of Anzio, where he spent 99 days in the trenches.

"We couldn't move at day at all, but we used to do our dirty work at night," he said.

Spidle recalled with pride being one of the first troops through the gates of Rome, in June 1944.

"There was five tanks and about 25 of us, and I was one of them ... and we hit the Germans on the run; we run them right out of Rome," he said.

Spidle continued with the unit to France, where he was injured.

After recovering, he rejoined the Devil's Brigade in the French Alps.

When the unit was dissolved, he continued fighting with the Cape Breton Highlanders in Holland, Belgium and Germany.

He said he feels honoured to have served with American troops, and has often travelled to the annual Devil's Brigade reunion.

"They were good boys, the Americans. They were good fighters," he said.

[spidge]

Great story!