I am a relative of this WWII 1st Special Service Force scout (FSSF) - Canada/USA (aka The Devil's Brigade, or the Black Devils brigade). As my Dad, Jack William Cokely of Pa., James' nephew put it, James "led the charge" for his 1st Special Service Force in Anzio, Italy, during WWII. Paratrooper James C. Cokely was a Technician Fourth Class (or Fourth "Grade") in 1 Regiment (5 Company), and he died of his injuries from the Anzio service, perishing on May 28, 1944. He was included in a military list that a user by the name of "Slimsilver" posted (about the First Special Forces Unit members 'Killed in Action' and 'Died of Wounds,' at Anzio in '43 and '44). James C. Cokely is cited on grave markers, one in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Italy (Plot D Row 11 Grave 12) ...(to see a link, Google and visit: "American Battle Monuments Commission and Tec4 James C Cokely ( - 1944) - Find A Grave Memorial"). And the second marker is in the Strickland Hill Cemetery in Springville, Pa., U.S.A., in Susquehanna County (which is south of Montrose, Pa., U.S.A.). I wish I knew more to the story of his rush into the charge at Anzio, and about his unit. My father, also a veteran, remembered a number of things, only a few of which he imparted to me. For one, he said this paratrooper (b. 1927- d.1944) was among the first to die when U.S.-Canadian troops went into Anzio (either in the SHINGLE push, or perhaps after the start of the "Breakout Offensive" kicked off on May 25, 1944, seeking to take two major locales on the approach to Rome, and seven bridges. (Looking back on the dates, though, my father may have meant to say James was "to have been injured, and later to die" for entering Anzio -- unless he led the charge during the aforementioned Breakout, which came four months after the Allies first strived to take control in Anzio.) The other tidbit my Dad mentioned was that James C. "Jimmy" Cokely was "real good looking," and was featured on the cover of either Time or Life magazine -- or maybe a big Army magazine -- back during his time of service. Kind of silly stuff, really. But it sticks in my memory. I do recall seeing that magazine pic when I was a young girl in my great-grandmother's house ... she'd cherished it, and kept it stored away, and one day took it out for me and my Mom. From what I've read, the 1st Special Service Force (or 1st SSF) was withdrawn from mountain duty and on Feb. 1, 1944, was landed at the beachhead which Operation SHINGLE had made at Anzio, replacing the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions. They were to hold the raid .... The SSF took over the Mussolini Canal "sector", and its patrols -- aggressive and constant with night raids -- included reconnaissance raids "as deep as 1,500 feet (460 m) behind enemy lines," according to a Wikipedia descriptive of the SSF. Furthermore, supposedly it was the Germans who dubbed them "black devils" or "devils brigade" as they'd put black polish on their faces for night raids, moved silently and always with surprise, and with frequency were thought to be division-sized, and not the few in number they really were. I read, too, that they were prone to leave behind cards or stickers with their unit's insignia on it with German words printed on them, indicating "The worst is yet to come." One writer (in "The Album" about the 1st Specials, online) described the melded fighting unit, based on teh writing "Daring to Die: The Story of the Black Devils") as having "haunted the nightmares of German troops in Italy and southern France. ... They were one of teh most feared and deadly allied combat units during the second World War" -- and they were the inspiration for today's current Army Special Forces and the development of the USA's Green Berets. The 1st SSF supposedly fought in Anzio without relief for 99 days. They were known to leave "calling cards" -- psych warfare tactics -- on sleeping or just-slain Germans in the dead of night which read, in German: "The Worst Is Yet To Come." They also scaled extremely high rock faces (in the dead of night!) and weathered conditions that no other soldiers could stand up to, including scrambling up the impressive Hill 960 during the Monte La Difensa in Italy in World War II. (This is one of the peaks forming the Camino hill mass, which formed the left-hand "gatepost" dominating the Mignano Gap, which was key to the U.S. Fifth Army's route to Cassino, Italy, and thus onward to Rome.) Another impressive climb: Rocca Massima, with the 1st Specials attacking it on May 27, 1944, during the 5th Army's "Breakout Offensive" to get to Rome. That breakout offensive, again, orchestrated by the 5th Army, actually began on May 25, 1944. The 1st SSF was then sent on May 27, 1944, to take two major locales (at least one a municipality on the approach to Rome), along with seven bridges. (I mean, WOW!) An Anzio 1944 website on the whole conflict (ANZIO 1944) describes the combat since the 5th Army first swarmed ashore at Anzio (and Nettuno), as four months of "some of the most savage fighting of World War II." And some have referred to the 1st Specials as "crazy" men, around whom you could never relax. They were small in number, 300, I believe, yet the Germans thought they were triple or more of that size. At the attack on Rocca Massima, Italy, the 1st Specials are said to have combined "in attachment" with the 1st Airborne Task Force (under newly appointed Major General Robert T. Frederick), comprising a unit of 1,800 who then killed 12,000 Nazis, captured 7,000 prisoners, and suffered an attrition rate of 600%. I hope this information is helpful to family or others interested in World War II and servicemen's contributions in defeating Nazi Germany and keeping democracy alive worldwide. Best regards, Cindy (Cokely) Kane, of Pennsylvania and Florida [May 18, 2012]

Cynthia "Cindy" (Cokely) Kane, Great niece