The history of the Devil's Brigade Community Center building underscores a distinct connection between the First Special
Service Force and the Montana National Guard:
In October of 1938, the State Engineer, the Chamber of Commerce board, John W.
Mahan, Adjutant General of the MTARNG, and William G. Ferguson suggested that
Helena sponsored a project to build a recreation hall at Fort Harrison with bricks salvaged
from the MTARNG North Warren Street Armory in Helena, Montana that was destroyed
in the 1935 earthquake. The building was essentially a gift from the Helena-area public
to the MTARNG, having raised money and awareness of the need for such a building
and donating it to Fort Harrison for annual National Guard encampments. Construction
of the recreation hall began in 1939 and was completed in 1940 but the building was not
officially opened and dedicated until 1942.
Due to the United States’ involvement in World War II, the two-week encampment
program at Fort Harrison that usually took place every June had been canceled in 1939,
and the reserve component was ordered into full-time military duty in 1940, which
resulted in MTARNG troops being sent elsewhere to train. With the MTARNG troops
away, Fort Harrison was quiet but came back to life in July of 1942 when the regular
Army assumed control of the post and military units began training at the former National
Guard encampment site. The Army needed a remote and relatively secret location for
training specialized forces, including the First Special Service Force, and viewed an
unoccupied fort as a perfect solution. Fort Harrison had the climate and mountain setting
and was far from any large urban center. Adequate training areas necessitated sufficient
snow and rugged terrain for skiing and climbing, as well as level ground for a land strip
and parachute training.
The post was rapidly expanded to accommodate the needs of the regular Army, with the
infrastructural build-up associated with the 1942 permanent occupation at Fort Harrison
completed rapidly between July and October 1942. The recreation hall officially opened
on September 25, 1942 for initial use by the First Special Service Force and made its
formal debut on October 3, 1942.
- Members of the First Special Service Force, who left Fort Harrison to train elsewhere in
1943, utilized the building for years to come as a reunion venue, and many men that had
been members of the First Special Service Force later became members of the
MTARNG. As early as 1950, more than 1,000 Helena area residents turned out for a
reunion and memorial service held by the First Special Service Force Association. Those
attending paid tribute to the men who died in battle on Anzio beachhead and in other
engagements, and business sessions among members from the U.S. and Canada, as
well as dinner and dancing all took place at the Fort Harrison recreation hall.
This striking historical context led us to believe it is only fitting that the MTNG continues
to revitalize a relationship with the Special Forces community. With that being said, we
have chosen to lean into that history and re-name the Service Club the Devil’s Brigade
Community Center.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.31.2024 15:10 |
| Story ID: | 477388 |
| Location: | HELENA, MONTANA, US |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Devil's Brigade Community Center Sign Unveiling, by SPC Matthew Williams, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
