Celebrate the newest member of the Special Forces Regiment!
At the incredible age of 100, Ellsworth “Al” Johnson was awarded the Special Forces Tab and coveted Green Beret tomorrow. He just might be the last living member of the Office of Strategic Services Operational Group (OSSOG) and likely the last WWII veteran to get his SF tab!
On August 14th, 1944, Mr. Johnson bravely jumped into France as a member of OG PATRICK. His remarkable efforts helped prevent the destruction of the Eguzon Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric dams in Europe. On July 27th, 1945, Mr. Johnson jumped with the 2nd Chinese Commando into an occupied China as part of the BLUEBERRY mission, leaving an incredible mark in history. Mr. Johnson was also sent to China and trained Chinese Commandos, helping establish their first airborne capability.
In case you didn’t know, Operational Groups (OG)are the original model for the Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA). The multi-faceted mission of the Operational Groups was to organize, train, and equip local resistance organizations, and to conduct ‘hit and run’ missions against enemy-controlled roads, railways, and strong points, or to prevent their destruction by retreating enemy forces during WWII. Most members of OG were Airborne and language qualified.
To honor Ellsworth’s incredible contributions and heroism, the USASOC Deputy Commanding General Maj. Gen Patrick Roberson and the 1st Special Forces Command – Airborne Brig. Gen. Lawrence Gil Ferguson presented Mr. Johnson with a SF Tab on 1 September, 2023, officially recognizing him as a Green Beret.
Outstanding. De oppresso liber. Ancora cento anni.
Ok dumb question from a guy who loves history. I know that the OSS became CIA. But are most the operations still classified since I tried to search for oss operations and all I really got was operations that were already widely publicized.
What operations?
Joey,
Most of that stuff has never been digitized and the paper records are archived here and there. USASOC used to have a lot of it. CIA probably still has quite a bit as well. Nobody wants to spend the money to transition tons of paper records but generally the agencies that “own” them have not destroyed anything either.
And no, while there may be a couple of exceptions, the vast majority are not still classified. Historians get access to them from time to time to write books. The OSS, “Wild Bill” Donovan, and the Jedburgh Teams have all been covered in some detail in various books over the years. One of the more recent ones about the Jeds was published in 2004. “Steel From the Sky” by Roger Ford. The Operational Groups got some literary love in 2016 in “Donovan’s Devils” by Albert Lulushi.
Those 2 would be a good place to start.
TLB
The OSS was disbanded in 1945. The CIA was founded in 1948. In the period between the two, activities were conducted by the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR).
Bottom line, the OSS never became the CIA, but it was a precursor for the formation of it, and the Agency had numerous former OSS agents in it.
Congratulations Mr. Johnson and thank you!