Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Balda | Eugene Gutierrez, Jr., a First Special Service Force War II veteran, gets strapped...... read more read more
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“I exercised this morning just like I have every day since I retired,” he told members of 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) assembled to celebrate the unit’s 60th Anniversary. “I am humbled to meet such a great group of men. I feel like my experience in World War II inspired a lot of the development of how Special Forces now operates.”
Gutierrez served with the First Special Service Force (FSSF) during World War II, storming the beaches in Anzio, Italy, liberating southern France, and re-claiming Rome from the Nazis. He visited here to celebrate the 1st SFG (A)’s 60th Anniversary on June 24, 2017.
When 1st SFG (A) stood up in 1957, it drew its lineage from the First Special Service Force.
The FSSF was made up of 900 American and 900 Canadian volunteers who assembled in Helena, Mont., to answer the call for men of the highest physical prowess to fight in an unknown unit at an unknown location for an unknown operation. The men were trained in commando tactics that included mountain climbing, skiing, demolition, amphibious training, and hand-to-hand combat, using the historic V42 knife for close-quarters fighting. Nicknamed the “Devil’s Brigade” by German Soldiers for their fierce tactics and practice of wearing black boot polish on their faces, the unit excelled during nighttime raids.
By the time the war ended, the brigade had captured more than 30,000 prisoners, won five U.S. campaign stars and eight Canadian battle honors.
To celebrate and honor the influence of Gutierrez and his ilk, 1st SFG (A) chose to do something a little different than conducting an airborne operation or having a formal Dining Out. In the spirit of the men who came before them, the anniversary was celebrated with a strenuous round-robin training event featuring six stations. Each station featured a 1st SFG (A) veteran who quizzed current unit members about their lineage and history.
“We can benefit from the living history in our ranks,” said Col. Guillaume Beaurpere, the 1st SFG (A) commander. “Heroes like Eugene can teach us a lot about commitment and sacrifice.”
Gutierrez joined the Army in 1941 after his family was devastated during the Great Depression. “I had seven siblings and my dad lost his grocery business,” Gutierrez said. “My family needed me to help financially and the Army paid $40 a month.”
After graduating high school, Gutierrez enlisted in the Army, sending money back to his family and saving some for college. He figured that three years of service would pay for two years of college. Little did he know, he would find himself on multiple front lines during four years of service.
“When I went to enlist, I weighed two pounds under the minimum weight allowance,” Gutierrez explained. “At 118 pounds, the recruiter told me to go home and eat nothing but bananas and return the next day. He told me when I was full to eat even more bananas.”
Initially Gutierrez joined the Army Air Corps specializing in parachute rigging, and that road led him to the First Special Service Force.
In total, Gutierrez saw 240 days of combat from December 1943 to December 1944. On December 4, 1944, the First Special Service Force was terminated because there was trouble finding replacements for such an elite unit, and larger, division-size elements were needed to fight.
After the war, Gutierrez returned to Texas, marrying his wife Penny in 1951; the two are still married after 66 years. Gutierrez went into teaching, and retired as a school principal in 1990.
“You all are defending my freedom,” Gutierrez told the 1st SFG (A) Soldiers, “I wish you the best in the world.”
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2017 20:36 |
| Story ID: | 239418 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 729 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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