This collection includes eight interviews with American and Canadian members of the First Special Service Force. The interviews were conducted from 1985 to 1986 by Charles Milo McLeod and Claire Rhein. The interviewees discuss the formation, training, and combat experience of the joint American and Canadian First Special Service Force during World War Two (1939-1945). The original interviews are held as Oral History collection OH 151 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 8 interviews.
-
Betty Sibley Interview, August 17, 1986
Betty Sibley
Betty Sibley explains what it was like to be the wife of a First Special Service Force Member. She talks about marrying her husband Harold Sibley before he volunteered for the Force and describes the dynamics of their relationship during his 39-month deployment. Sibley shares ... Read More
-
Frank Kessinger Interview, August 15, 1986
Frank Kessinger
Frank Kessinger discusses his military service and how he came to be part of the First Special Service Force during World War II. He talks about volunteering for the Force and the rigorous training in hand-to-hand combat, mountain climbing, skiing, vehicle operations, and weapons that ... Read More
-
Herb Goodwin Interview, March 26, 1985
Herb Goodwin
Herb Goodwin recalls his military background and how he was chosen to be part of the newly formed First Special Service Force. He describes traveling from Canada to Helena, Montana, to participate in training for the Force, and he talks extensively about the weapons, gear, ... Read More
-
Herb Goodwin Interview, March 28, 1985
Herb Goodwin
Herb Goodwin discusses his World War Two Service in the U.S. Army’s First Special Service Force, fighting in Italy and southern France from 1943 to 1944. He recalls training in the U.S. at various forts around the country, and leading an invasion on the Alaskan ... Read More
-
Joe Glass Interview, March 28, 1985
Joe Glass
Joe Glass discusses his experience in the First Special Service Force. He talks about signing up for the Force in 1942, following his stint as a bayonet instructor in the Canadian Army, and describes the dynamic between Canadian and American soldiers who comprised the Force. ... Read More
-
John Conaghan Interview, August 17, 1986
John Conaghan
John Conaghan discusses his military training and career. He talks about working on a searchlight crew before he volunteered for the First Special Service Force during World War Two. He talks about his Force training in Helena, Montana, and the pay he received for being ... Read More
-
Norm Smith Interview, August 15, 1986
Norm Smith
Norm Smith discusses his service history in the Canadian military and why he volunteered for the First Special Service Force. He talks about being part of the first Canadian contingent to come to Helena, Montana, as part of his Special Service Force training, and describes ... Read More
-
S. Leonard Goodman Interview, August 16, 1986
S. Leonard Goodman
S. Leonard Goodman discusses his service in the Canadian army and in the combined First Special Service Force in World War Two. He recalls that the fact that he could speak Icelandic may have helped him get into the Force, due to plans for a ... Read More