In 1944, during the battle of Anzio, south of Rome, Allied soldiers are said to have come across the journal of a dead German lieutenant from the Herman Goering Division. Perusing the document, they found a reference to “the Black Devils,” the name given by the German officer to Allied soldiers who had painted their faces black with shoe polish.
“The Black Devils are all around us every time we come into the line,” the officer had written.
Allied soldiers liked the way they had brought fear to the hearts of their enemies and soon they adopted the name the Devil’s Brigade.
Consisting of Canadian and American troops formally operating as the First Special Service Force (FSSF), the commandos were featured in a 1968 Hollywood film, The Devil’s Brigade.
In Toronto, veteran Morris Lazarus has a particular interest in the special forces unit. Perhaps in the movie as well.
“Have you seen the film?” he is asked.
“Seen it? I was in it,” Lazarus quickly replied, referring not to the film but to the commando unit itself.
Lazarus is 95 and still quite spry. He proudly wears a navy blue jacket decorated with medals he earned as a sergeant in the Devil’s Brigade. He’s got a book of the unit’s history and he shows off a Certificate of Recognition signed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in tribute to his wartime service.
He’ll soon accept another accolade when he joins fellow veterans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3 to be feted by members of Congress and receive the Congressional Gold Medal.
“It was the only unit formed in World War II with troops from the United States and Canada – building on the special bond between the two countries,” said House Speaker John Boehner in a statement. “The unit was instrumental in targeting military and industrial installations. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honour the United States Congress can bestow.”
Lazarus was one of a handful of Jews who were part of the unit, which numbered 1,800 men in all and which suffered very high attrition rates throughout its service. It was created in 1942 and disbanded in December 1944, but during its lifespan, the unit saw action in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in Italy and southern France. Recruits were actively sought among lumberjacks, outdoorsmen, miners and tough guys who would fight behind enemy lines.
It is credited with never losing a battle in which it fought, for inflicting 12,000 German casualties, and capturing some 7,000 prisoners. Its emblem was a native spearhead, with the names Canada and U.S.A. crossing in the middle. The unit had cards printed featuring the insignia along with the words “The worst is yet to come” printed in red which would be left on the bodies of dead Germans as a form of psychological warfare.
Lazarus, who was born in Saskatchewan, recalled his first action in the battle for Monte La Difensa in December 1943. The FSSF used the special training that they had received in winter, and mountain warfare to scale the Italian mountain and overcome the Germans at the top.
Asked about the battle, Lazarus recalls carrying 10 grenades with him – more than the other soldiers – and that it was quite gruelling to climb the mountain. His commanding sergeant, he said, “was tough as nails.
“We went in and attacked the Germans and we took the mountain. We lost a goodly number of our men, but we also eradicated a goodly number of the enemy. That was our first big battle,” he said.
Though his memory isn’t quite what it used to be, Lazarus also recalls participating in the battle of Anzio, the Allied landing south of Rome that was designed to outflank the Germans to the south.
He was part of a group from the FSSF who were first into liberated Rome in June 1944 and he has a special fondness for an incident involving a contessa, an Italian countess, who asked him and his mates to dinner at her castle. “My guys were not too courteous,” the elderly gentleman now concedes.
Though he jokes he was barely more than 100 pounds in those days, Lazarus recalls being asked by the contessa for help in preventing a group of hooligans from stealing her car. Gallant gentleman that he was, Lazarus left the dinner, found the would-be thieves, and told them in a polite yet firm tone, “You better leave here or I’ll blow you all to hell.” And they did.
According to one report, there are only 46 Americans, 29 Canadians and one Australian remaining from the unit.
In a few days, Lazarus will join other Black Devils veterans to receive another award to add to his collection.
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honour bestowed by the U.S. Congress. Fewer than 150 of the medals have been awarded since the first was given to George Washington. Among the recipients are the Tuskegee Airmen, Gen. Douglas MacArthur and, the Doolittle Tokyo raiders.
Lazarus was in select company in 1944. It looks like he is still in very select company more than 70 years later.
