Bernie Helming; Devil’s Brigade Survivor

Special from Ferdinand News

Single men between ages 21 and 35 who have completed three years or more grammar school within the occupational range of Lumberjacks, Forest Rangers, Hunters, Northwoodsmen, Game Wardens, Prospectors, and Explorers.

Thus read notices tacked to mess hall and rec room walls in 1942 at military bases across the United States. The purpose? The formation of what was to be called the First Special Service Force (FSSF). Volunteers were being sought for what was referred to by many as a suicide outfit and others as a new airborne unit.

The rationale? Those who would be effective members of an outfit trained for unconventional warfare would need a tolerance for cold weather and lean rations, the ability to move stealthily through woods and up mountainsides without detection by the enemy and a willingness to risk their lives not only to the enemy, but the elements. They came from a smörgåsbord of former occupations. All who were accepted showed a willingness to work as a team under grueling conditions.

Although the original idea for such an elite unit was born in England, the unit was ultimately made up of a combination of American and Canadian soldiers who were trained quickly but intensely in mountain climbing, amphibious landings, skiing, parachuting, long distance marches, hand-to-hand combat and more that would be useful as they silently moved into positions that offered them the opportunity to surprise the enemy.

Among the original 1,800 men selected to serve in the FSSF was Bernard Helming of Ferdinand, one of only about 25 percent of the original members to survive the unit’s time in combat.

His qualifications for acceptance in the new unit included a knowledge of electricity and wiring, plumbing and metal bending and the ability to fluently speak German dialects, which would be invaluable as the unit moved deeper into German territory. He had also trained with the Canadian Army before enlisting in the United States Army.

Bernard (or Bernie as he was known to his friends) entered service in the United States Army in May of 1942. Once accepted as a volunteer for the new special forces unit training in Montana, he was assigned to Ft. William Henry Harrison near Helena where the troops slept in the snow, hikes were 50 miles long and rations were slim — all in preparation for a planned parachute landing near Norwegian installations that controlled essential gas and electric dispersals.

Training for the troops began upon their arrival at Ft. Harrison. There was no time to settle in. Parachute training began immediately and so did the long, exhausting hikes through rough terrain which were undertaken daily.

After a few brief months of training in air and on land, the unit moved from Montana to Norfolk for amphibious training and then final inspection at Ft. Ethan Allen in Vermont before shipping out to the Aleutian Islands. Assigned to drive the Japanese from the island of Kiska, it was soon discovered the Japanese had already fled. The Force was ordered to return to the US and pack for the Mediterranean Theatre, which was not the climate they had trained for.

However, landing in Italy, they put their mountain climbing skills to use taking two peaks, Monte La Difensa and El Camino with its German occupied monastery. They scaled the sheer rock face opposite recognized trails to the German encampments. These peaks had held Allied forces at bay and capturing them would clear the way for advancement of the 5th Army division into the interior of Italy.

Thinking they had covered all access routes to their mountaintop positions, the Germans were firing on American troops from their vantage points above them. But, they were in for a surprise when the FSSF troops attacked from what was thought to be insurmountable sheer rock ascents behind the German encampments and on the back side of their fire power.

During their ascent, the FSSA troops were exposed to icy rain in the dark of night carrying heavy packs and weapons. Their hands froze and their arms grew weary. Their silent approach was only sabotaged by a rock slide on Difensa that alerted the enemy to their approach. Hand-to-hand combat followed, but the FSSA troops were able to take the position allowing the stalemated 5th Army to make significant breaks in the German’s winter line.

Throughout FSSF campaigns, Helming’s command of German was a great asset. At one point during their advances, Helming discovered a telephone line and spliced into it. According to recollections by family and friends, speaking to a German commander in German, Helming convinced him to surrender. On other occasions, so rich was Helming’s German speech that he frequently dressed as a German and walked among the German soldiers collecting useful information.

Following the taking of Difensa and El Camino and exhausted from combat, unit members, having suffered significant casualties and wounded, were granted a short lived rest period before moving on to Anzio Beachhead where they were instrumental in the breakthrough on the right flank along the Mussolini Canal.

Of the approximately 40 miles of beach, the FSSF was assigned to secure about 10 miles with a unit that was 40 percent understaffed following their assault on the Difensa and El Camino mountain tops.

The Force, as this unit was called, along with remnants of other units including the Rangers and their Cannon Company with their weaponry, maintained their position and pushed back the enemy defense line by constant assaults over nearly 100 days, most often under cover of darkness. It was during the push to break the German lines at Anzio that members of the FSSF were first dubbed Black Devils by their German prey.

Faces blackened with boot polish and dark clothing, the FSSF troops would routinely attack during the night hours striking fear in the hearts of the survivors with leaflets written in German stating, “The worst is yet to come.” Or, on occasion they would infiltrate a German camp, move silently among sleeping soldiers, slice some of their throats and leave the message, “You could be next” for the survivors to find when they awoke.

Thus, with intense combat and what could only be called psychological warfare thanks to their stealthy night maneuvers, leaflets bearing predictions of doom and their ability seemingly to know just where and when to strike, the Force spearheaded the breakthrough at Anzio on May 20, 1944, which opened the way to Rome.

Allied troops entered Rome on June 4 followed by the FSSF being relieved of duty with the 5th Army.

Their next mission was to help spearhead the landings in Southern France with the 7th Army. After successful entry into France was accomplished, the unit was assigned to the 1st Airborne Task.

When Helming was initially sent to join the 101st Airborne Division, his new comrades were wary.

In a letter sent to Bernie’s son a few years ago from Eugene Cavenaugh, a member of the decimated 101st, when Bernie joined the unit, “There were not too many of us still standing and we all thought where the hell did this guy come from? No one said too much to him but he heard us griping about being hungry and cold. Bernie set his pack down and disappeared for a short time, only to return with a water pail full of eggs from a farm women. We learned then he could speak German and was happy to help us…From that moment we gladly welcomed him and learned from several others from the Special Forces that he was a highly decorated person after what he did during the invasion of Southern France.”

Throughout their existence, the “Devils” suffered significant casualties. By the time the unit disbanded, most of the members were replacement troops.

Helming remained with the 101st until his separation date when, according to Cavenaugh, his fellow troops took up a collection for Helming with the instructions to have a good time when he got home.

Upon his return to Ferdinand, he married Dorothy Messmer, had seven children and resumed his plumbing, tin smith and electrical business.

Bernie was killed June 14, 1961 when working on the roof at Jasper Rubber when he came in contact with electric lines and was electrocuted.

As per Bernard’s discharge papers dated June 9, 1945, S/Sgt. INF Helming’s commendations and medals included: the European-African-Middle Eastern Theatre ribbon with four bronze stars, the Asiatic Pacific Theatre ribbon with one bronze star, the Good Conduct Ribbon and a Purple Heart earned in Italy along with the French Croix de Guerre.

The FSSF was also memorialized in Europe by a commemorative plaque outside the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, next to the Pyramid of Cestius and another on the Embassy of the United States in Rome.

Helming’s family notes that in all the years he was raising his family, he never talked much about the war and never shared his experiences. He did acknowledge that it bothered him to kill another human being and that knowing the Germans he encountered could be relatives made it the harder. But, he also acknowledged that he did what had to be done.

Finally, after 70 plus years, surviving Devil’s Brigade members were recently recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC. Only a handful of survivors are still living, most in their 90s.