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Radcliffe, T. Mark, COL.
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Home Town Shiprock
Last Address Helena, Montana
Date of Passing Apr 01, 2012
Location of Interment Montana State Veterans Cemetery - Helena, Montana
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Shiprock-born war hero, Mark Radcliffe, dies at 92
By Kurt Madar kmadar@daily-times.com
Posted: 04/09/2012 12:06:54 AM MDT
FARMINGTON — Mark Radcliffe was a war hero, something his son, Bob Radcliffe, didn't know growing up.
Radcliffe, a highly decorated World War II Army veteran who was born in Shiprock, died at the age of 92 on April 1 in Montana.
"I never knew growing up what he had done," Bob said. "He was a kind of easygoing normal guy. What can I say, he was my dad."
He was also tough as nails.
According to Bob, the actual phrase used to describe his dad's toughness was "tougher than a woodpecker's lips."
After being ordered into active duty in 1941, Radcliffe was selected a year later for the Plough Project, which at the time was described as a suicide mission.
The Plough Project was an invasion of Norway by a small, highly trained unit that would strike deep behind enemy lines. The problem was no such guerrilla-style unit existed.
Enter the First Special Service Force, an elite commando unit created for the Plough Project that combined Canadian and American soldiers.
"These guys were the original special ops," Bob said. "When Canada did a documentary about them, they recruited ex-special forces and put them through the same training with the same equipment. By the end of the training, only seven of them were left."
While the Plough Project was scrapped, the 1st Special Service Force created for it was extremely effective. Earning the nickname Black Devils from the Germans, their exploits were eventually made into the movie "The Devil's Brigade."
Trained as paratroopers, they were assigned to the European Theater. Radcliffe commanded troops that captured Mount Magio in Italy, and led the first troops into Rome. He holds battle credits in North Africa, the South Pacific, Asiatic Pacific and throughout Europe.
Radcliffe was also captured.
"When he was a POW, he was beat across the throat and shot in the foot," Bob said. "One night the position where he was being held came under artillery fire."
As the two German soldiers guarding him looked out to see where the shells were coming from, Radcliffe, who they thought was unconscious, grabbed a board and took them out.
"There were three of them that escaped," Bob said. "That night they hid in a tree. The next morning they each went their separate ways to try and make it back to the lines. My dad was the only one that made it."
Radcliffe was awarded a Silver Star, six Bronze Stars, three Army Commendation Medals and a Purple Heart with three clusters.
After returning from the war, he continued his military career in the Army Reserve, retiring in 1978 as a full colonel.
He also returned to Helena, Mont. where the 1st Special Reserve Force trained, and where he met his wife, Edith Kathleen Bauer, during training.
"He met my mom at a dance," Bob said. "At the dance he saw my mom across the dance floor and told his buddy, "I'm going to marry that woman.'"
Two months later that is exactly what he did. They were together for the next 70 years.
"It was love at first sight and ever after," said Radcliffe's daughter, Carolyn Doering. "I mean I'm sure they had their moments, but I never heard my parents argue. My dad never went anyplace without my mom, they were always together."
While Radcliffe was a very private man, and Carolyn rarely saw public displays of affection, she had no doubt that he adored Edith.
"Every year, even when my dad was overseas, he made sure my mom had a dozen red roses on their anniversary," Carolyn said. "He was amazing."
Obituary from Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home:
Colonel T. Mark Radcliffe fought his last battle on April 1st, 2012, wrapped in the love and care given by his family, the wonderful dedicated staff at Aspen Gardens, and Hospice of St. Peters.
Mark was born September 6, 1918 in Shiprock, New Mexico, the first of three boys, to Marcus and Evelyn Radcliffe. He spent his early years in New Mexico and Salt Lake City, Utah, attended the National Defense School at the University of Utah and was ordered into active duty in 1941.
Mark was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. After the attack, he was sent to Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia. In 1942 Mark was interviewed and selected for duty with the First Special Service Force at Fort William Henry Harrison in Helena as Company Executive Officer. He was trained as a paratrooper and a member of the elite Devil's Brigade. He was assigned to the European Theater and participated in all the major force combat missions. Mark commanded the troops that captured and secured the enemy on Mt. Magio in Italy, was captured and wounded, and lead the first troops into Rome to secure their liberation. He was awarded the Silver Star, six Bronze Stars, three Army Accomodation medals, the Purple Heart with three clusters, the combat infantry badge, parachute wings, commendation for superior combat operations, and an official commendation for leading the first combat patrol into the City of Rome. He holds battle credits in North Africa, the South Pacific, Asiatic Pacific, Naples, Foggia, Rome Arno, Corsica, Southern France, Franco Italian border, Rheinland and Norway. After returning from the war in 1944, Mark continued his military career by joining the Army Reserve as Deputy Commander, then becoming Commander of the Helena unit. He served in many capacities, retiring in 1978 as a Full Colonel.
While training in Helena, Mark met the love of his life, Edith Kathleen Bauer, at a USO dance.......the beautiful girl across the room. He wrote his mother that he had met the girl he was going to marry. Two months later on September 3, 1942 they were married at St. Paul's Methodist Church.
Mark was a professional engineer and started his career at McKinnon and Decker Construction Co. in Helena after the war. He was Deputy Director of the Montana Aeronautics Commission and retired as Deputy Director of the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mark designed the First Special Service Force Monument at Memorial Park and the Cenotaph that stands behind it. He was instrumental in the development of the Montana Military Museum at Fort Harrison and after retirement worked to secure the designation of Fort Harrison as a high altitude training facility.
Mark was preceded in death by his parents and his youngest brother Robert Radcliffe. He is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Edith Radcliffe of Helena; a daughter Carolyn (Chuck) Doering of Helena and a son Bob (Jeannette) Radcliffe of Bozeman. Grandchildren; Annette (Randy) McDowell of Bozeman, Lynne (John) Armbruster of Snohomish, WA., and Mark Radcliffe Jr. (Anna) of Belgrade. Step-grandchildren: Stephanie Borash of West Yellowstone and Suzie Hockel of Bozeman. He has eight great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Bruce Radcliffe of Tempe, Arizona, and several nieces and nephews.
A Memorial Service and Reception will be held on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, starting at 1:00 pm. at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave in Helena. A burial with Military honors will follow at the State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Mark's name may be sent to the Montana Military Museum Foundation, PO Box 125, Fort Harrison, Montana 59636-0081 or the Wounded Warrior Project, 4899 Belfort Road, Ste. 300, Jacksonville, FL. 32256. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.aswfuneralhome.com
Burial: Montana State Veterans Cemetery
Helena
Lewis and Clark County
Montana, USA
Other Comments:
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
1942-1944, 1542, 1st Special Service Force (The Devil's Brigade)
1st Special Service Force (The Devil's Brigade) Details
While the origins of U.S. Army Special Forces date back to the French and Indian War and the formation of Rogers’ Rangers, the modern concepts of unconventional warfare were largely developed in World War II with the formation of several specially trained units. One of the these early Special Forces units was the First Special Service Force, also known as the “Devil’s Brigade.”
The origins of the First Special Service Force (or the Force, as its members referred to it) began at the highest levels of the Allied Command in World War II. The basic concept, which came from the staff of Lord Louis Mountbatten’s Combined Operations Command, called for a force able to fight on land, on the sea, in the air, and in winter conditions. Planners intended to use the force to attack hydroelectric plants in occupied Norway, oil fields in Romania, and even targets in Russia. Because neither Britain nor Norway could supply the troops, this new unit would be comprised of American and Canadian soldiers. MG Dwight D. Eisenhower, head of the War Plans Division, gave one of his staff officers, LTC Robert T. Frederick, the assignment of studying the idea, codenamed Project Plough. On 16 June 1942 Eisenhower gave Frederick the task of organizing and commanding the unit that would become known as the First Special Service Force.
After receiving his orders, Frederick began to organize a staff, obtain American and Canadian volunteers, and locate a place to train the new unit. To fill the Force’s ranks, Frederick and his staff recruited men with experience in working outdoors–lumberjacks, forest rangers, hunters, game wardens, prospectors, and others suitable for the Force’s mission. The Force was organized into three regiments, each made up of two battalions. It also had a small Air Force Detachment and a Service Battalion. In all, the Force would have approximately 2,300 officers and men.
The First Special Service Force was activated on 9 July 1942 at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana. The rugged, mountainous terrain and extreme winter conditions made Montana the ideal place for training. The Forcemen underwent rigorous training in a variety of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, demolition techniques, airborne assault, and attack maneuvers. In the fall, a group of Norwegian Army ski troops arrived to teach the Forcemen cross country skiing.
In the fall of 1942, however, the Allies cancelled Project Plough. Although seemingly without a mission with the termination of Plough, Allied leaders decided to keep the well trained Force. In spring 1943, the Force underwent amphibious training at Norfolk, Virginia, for possible future amphibious operations.
On 15 August 1943, the First Special Service Force participated in its first operation. The Forcemen landed on the rocky shores of Kiska in the Aleutian Islands, only to discover the Japanese had secretly abandoned the island.
After returning to the U.S., the First Special Service Force was reassigned to the Mediterranean Theater and the fighting on the Italian peninsula. The Force arrived in Naples on 19 November 1943 and went into the line at Santa Maria with the 36th Infantry Division. In early December, the Force stormed and captured Monte La Difensa, a major hill mass blocking the Fifth Army’s advance which had been unsuccessfully assaulted by a number of other Allied units. In late December 1943 and early January 1944, the Force captured Monte Sammucro and Monet Mojo and held them against heavy odds.
After a brief rest, the Force was sent into the Anzio Beachhead on 2 February and took up positions on the Allies right flank. Despite being forty percent understrength, the Force effectively held thirteen kilometers of front for ninety-nine continuous days and even penetrated the German main line of resistance on occasion. It was at Anzio that the Force earned its nickname, the “Devil’s Brigade,” for their fierce style of fighting in blackened faces. An entry from a diary found on the body of a German officer read, “The Black Devils are all around us every time we come into line, and we never hear them.”
The Force seized key bridges south of Rome and entered the city with other Allied units on 4 June. In its last campaign, now under the command of COL Edwin A. Walker, the Force seized three islands off the south coast of France on 14 August to protect the Allied landings. However, the Force’s time was almost up. On 5 December 1944, the Force was disbanded. Many of the American Forcemen were sent to American airborne units as desperately needed replacements. Others served with the 474th Infantry (Separate), which saw action with the Third Army and later performed occupation duty in Norway.
In its relatively brief wartime service, the First Special Service Force suffered over 2,700 casualties. It was awarded five U.S. Army campaign streamers and another ten by Canada. The Force’s legacy lives on as the seven Special Forces groups currently in the Regular Army or Army National Guard all trace their lineage to the First Special Service Force.