MUD AND BLOOD
99-year-old Pincher Creek resident proud of efforts with legendary unit
Wounded Canadians took cover behind a pill box during the First World War’s Battle of Passchendaele, which ended 100 years ago Friday. Almost 16,000 Canadians were killed or wounded in the four-month conflict.
Nearly 80 years ago, in the early days of the Second World War, a young farm boy from southern Alberta decided that he wanted to pitch in.
Little did Hank Planger know that his good intentions would carry him to one of the most elite military outfits of the war.
He and his fellow volunteers would join with their American counterparts to form the First Special Service Force, also known as the Devil’s Brigade.
And all he had to do was sign up. “They called for volunteers,” said Planger.
“I put my name down and the next thing I know I’m on a train and I’m heading south to hell knows where.
“All of sudden I wound up in Helena, Montana. The ones that were with me were Americans. They were from Great Falls and wherever. I was a leader in the Devil’s Brigade. “I was with the U.S. army as a staff sergeant, which is quite an honour for a country kid like me.”
The other day during a conversation at his family ranch near Pincher Creek, Planger recalled how the legendary unit got its name.
“We went out on a raid, sent out on a raid, and when we took on the enemy, we scared the hell out of them,” said the 99-year-old, with a laugh.
“We put on a mask ( by painting our faces) and they were very frightened. All of a sudden they said they were being attacked by the devil. And that’s where the (name) Devil’s Brigade came in.”
The force was a Canadian-American partnership made up of 1,800 men, predominantly tough outdoorsmen — lumberjacks, hunters, ranchers.
They battled from 1942 to 1944. “You remember a few things about the war, yeah,” said Planger.
“I was a staff sergeant. We were the very first troops who liberated the Holy City (of Rome)."