A FSSF veteran sent me a very nice gift 
for thanking me for my work concerning the mass grave of his former enemies. I will let the vet do the talking, with extracts from some emails or letters we have exchanged over the years. He talks about the patch, about his FSSF time, and about the disbandment of the Force, that also occured in Villeneuve-Loubet, where the grave was found:
"Hi Jean-Loup, and I thank you again for the pictures
you took at the exhuming of the German soldiers grave,
I find it very ineresting because it was something
that happened 62 1/2 years ago and I was there and
took part in it all in the first place.
Please find enclosed a FSSF shoulder patch, this patch
is very rare and unique as this batch of patches was
probably the last ones produced. They were made in
Italy in 1944 and are a real collectors itam but I
would rather see it go to a person who is interested
in the Force and will appreciate it.
Sincerely"
"I was so glad to hear that the letter arrived safely, I was starting to worry that maybe it had got lost annd that patch can not be replaced. That is the patch that I wore in Italy and France. It is one of the last batch of those patches to be made. They are very rare as the wewe the only ones to be made in Italy in 1944."
"When I joined the
Force I
was in 1st Company 3rd Regt and took all my training there, I then took
a
course as a radio operator and when I completed that I was transferred
to
Headquarter Detachment but that didn't mean we were behind the front
lines,
to the contrary we were up in the thick of things all the time. The
other
troops liked to stay away from us radio operators because when we were
transmitting the enemy would pick up our signal and zero in on our
position
with Mortar and Artillirary fire.
When we landed in Southern France the objective of the 3rd Regt was to
follow the coast line to the east till we reached the Italian border.
When
we reached the border we set up our headquarters in Menton and stayed
there
till early December 1944 when the decision was made to disband the
Force. We
were moved back to Villeneuve Loubet and that is the first time I saw
the
town. It was there on December 5th 1944 where the official break up
took
place, we were formed up on parade when the command came "Canadian Fall
Out"
and everybody looked around to see who was falling out because we
didn't
look at one another as Canadian or American, we were North Americans. A
very
strong bond was formed among the member and that bond still exists
today.
After the war we formed the First Special Service Force Association so
we
could keep in touch and we still have a reunion every year, it is held
in
Canada one year and the U.S. next and it is held in a city anywhere
from the
east coast to the west coast that way it gives everyone a chance to get
to a
reunion without having to travel too far as the members came from every
state in the U.S. and every Province in Canada although the distance
doesn't
bother us too much now that we are all retired and we make it our
annual
holiday, it is one big family reunion now as it includes children and
grandchildren so you can see how the bond that existed in the Force
still
exists.
I'm sorry I can't give you anymore details about the activities of the
Force
at Villeneuve Loubet but it was the 2nd Regt that went through there
and I
was in a different sector and only got there when the unit disbanded. I
would like to hear something about yourself, I gather you must have
something to do with peace keeping as you are in Croatia at the present
time. Hoping to hear from you again soon.
Sinceely"
for thanking me for my work concerning the mass grave of his former enemies. I will let the vet do the talking, with extracts from some emails or letters we have exchanged over the years. He talks about the patch, about his FSSF time, and about the disbandment of the Force, that also occured in Villeneuve-Loubet, where the grave was found:"Hi Jean-Loup, and I thank you again for the pictures
you took at the exhuming of the German soldiers grave,
I find it very ineresting because it was something
that happened 62 1/2 years ago and I was there and
took part in it all in the first place.
Please find enclosed a FSSF shoulder patch, this patch
is very rare and unique as this batch of patches was
probably the last ones produced. They were made in
Italy in 1944 and are a real collectors itam but I
would rather see it go to a person who is interested
in the Force and will appreciate it.
Sincerely"
"I was so glad to hear that the letter arrived safely, I was starting to worry that maybe it had got lost annd that patch can not be replaced. That is the patch that I wore in Italy and France. It is one of the last batch of those patches to be made. They are very rare as the wewe the only ones to be made in Italy in 1944."
"When I joined the
Force I
was in 1st Company 3rd Regt and took all my training there, I then took
a
course as a radio operator and when I completed that I was transferred
to
Headquarter Detachment but that didn't mean we were behind the front
lines,
to the contrary we were up in the thick of things all the time. The
other
troops liked to stay away from us radio operators because when we were
transmitting the enemy would pick up our signal and zero in on our
position
with Mortar and Artillirary fire.
When we landed in Southern France the objective of the 3rd Regt was to
follow the coast line to the east till we reached the Italian border.
When
we reached the border we set up our headquarters in Menton and stayed
there
till early December 1944 when the decision was made to disband the
Force. We
were moved back to Villeneuve Loubet and that is the first time I saw
the
town. It was there on December 5th 1944 where the official break up
took
place, we were formed up on parade when the command came "Canadian Fall
Out"
and everybody looked around to see who was falling out because we
didn't
look at one another as Canadian or American, we were North Americans. A
very
strong bond was formed among the member and that bond still exists
today.
After the war we formed the First Special Service Force Association so
we
could keep in touch and we still have a reunion every year, it is held
in
Canada one year and the U.S. next and it is held in a city anywhere
from the
east coast to the west coast that way it gives everyone a chance to get
to a
reunion without having to travel too far as the members came from every
state in the U.S. and every Province in Canada although the distance
doesn't
bother us too much now that we are all retired and we make it our
annual
holiday, it is one big family reunion now as it includes children and
grandchildren so you can see how the bond that existed in the Force
still
exists.
I'm sorry I can't give you anymore details about the activities of the
Force
at Villeneuve Loubet but it was the 2nd Regt that went through there
and I
was in a different sector and only got there when the unit disbanded. I
would like to hear something about yourself, I gather you must have
something to do with peace keeping as you are in Croatia at the present
time. Hoping to hear from you again soon.
Sinceely"
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