Devil's Brigade Honored With Scottish Tartan

Almost 70 years after the legendary WWII unit was disbanded, the First Special Service Force is being honored with a unique tartan in the Scottish national registry.

An elite unit of Second World War commandos with a reputation for daring and stealth that earned it the nickname The Black Devils are being honoured with the creation of an original Scottish tartan. A new tartan design will be officially filed with the Scottish national tartan registry for the First Special Service Force, a Canadian-American unit created in 1942 and disbanded after barely a year of intense warfare. The creation of the tartan is being spearheaded by the Helena, Montana-based Shining Thistle Pipe Band and the First Special Service Force Association, which represents the remaining members of the unit and their descendants. The force trained at Fort William Henry Harrison in Helena before heading into combat. "We want to not only recognize and honour them, but to hear their stories before they are lost," said Bill Woon, the executive director of the association and the son of a Canadian member of the commando unit. Woon's father, a miner and a soldier from Coldwater, Ont., was one of the 2,300 men — including 800 Canadians — that volunteered for the elite unit. Only about 1,400, including Woon's father, survived the war.

By: Shelldrake