Robert T . Frederick Robert Tryon Frederick ( March 14 , 1907 - November 29 , 1970 ) was a highly decorated American combat commander during World War II , who commanded the 1st Special Service Force , the 1st Airborne Task Force and the 45th Infantry Division . Career . Robert T . Frederick was born on March 14 , 1907 in San Francisco , California . He attended Staunton Military Academy from 1923 to 1924 and the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1924 to 1928 . Upon graduation from West Point , he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery . He graduated from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas in 1939 . In 1942 , as a staff officer serving in the War Department , then - Lieutenant Colonel Frederick was tasked with raising the joint U . S . - Canadian force which became the 1st Special Service Force . The unit , activated on July 9 , 1942 at Fort William Henry Harrison , Montana , was originally intended for commando operations in Norway , and trained extensively in winter and mountain warfare , as well as hand - to - hand combat and other infantry skills . In April 1943 , the unit moved to Vermont for training , first at Camp Bradford and then at Fort Ethan Allen . The Norway mission was cancelled , however , and the 1st Special Service Force was sent instead to the Aleutian Islands in July 1943 . It returned to the continental United States in September , and then left in October for the European theater . Frederick ' s men arrived in Casablanca in French Morocco in November 1943 and quickly moved to the Italian front . Landing at Naples on November 19 , 1943 , the 1st Special Service Force went into the line . In December 1943 and January 1944 , the 1st Special Service Force conducted a series of operations at Monte la Difensa , Monte la Remetanea , Monte Sammucro ( Hill 720 ) and Monte Vischiataro . After the 1st Special Service Force ( or Devil ' s Brigade ) attacked and captured the enemy forces at the impregnable Monte la Difensa , the victory prompted Winston Churchill to declare that " Robert Frederick " was " the greatest fighting general of all time " and " if we had had a dozen more like him we would have smashed Hitler in 1942 " . Frederick was promoted to brigadier general in January 1944 . On February 2 , 1944 , Frederick ' s men landed at Anzio and went into action along the Mussolini Canal . They were the first Allied troops to enter Rome on June 4 , 1944 . For valor with the 1st Special Service Force in Italy , Brigadier General Frederick was twice decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross , the United States Army ' s second highest valor award . The first award was for actions on January 10 – 13 , 1944 and the second for actions on June 4 , 1944 . While at Anzio he was wounded a number of times , including two separate wounds on a single day . On June 23 , 1944 , Brigadier General Frederick announced he was leaving the unit . He was to be promoted to major general and given command of an ad hoc division - sized airborne formation , the 1st Airborne Task Force , for the invasion of Southern France ( Operation Dragoon ) . The task force , formed that July , consisted of the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade and the U . S . 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion , 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team , 550th Glider Infantry Battalion , 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion and 460th and 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalions , along with various support units . Under the code name " Rugby Force " , the unit jumped on August 15 , 1944 into the Argens Valley between Le Luc and Le Muy , behind the Massif des Maures , a key piece of terrain which overlooked the Allied landing beaches near St . Tropez and St . Raphaël . Having successfully blocked German forces from reaching the invasion beaches , the 1st Airborne Task Force linked up with the 36th Infantry Division on August 17 , 1944 . It then moved up the French Riviera coastline , taking Cannes unopposed on August 24 , 1944 and linking up with Frederick ' s old unit , the 1st Special Service Force . The 1st Special Service Force had initially been tasked to seize several small islands off the French Riviera and then moved onshore , where it was attached to the 1st Airborne Task Force on August 22 ( replacing the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade ) . The task force then fought on to the French - Italian border , where it took up defensive positions . The task force was dissolved on November 23 , 1944 ( and the 1st Special Service Force was disbanded on December 5 ) . Major General Frederick was given command of the 45th Infantry Division in December 1944 , becoming ( with James M . Gavin ) at the age of 37 , the youngest divisional commander in Europe . He led the division through the end of the war . The 45th saw heavy combat in French Alsace from December 1944 through February 1945 , and was pulled from the line to rehabilitate on February 17 . In mid - March , it was assigned to XV Corps for Operation Undertone ( 15 . - 24 . March 1945 ) , the drive into Germany . The division crossed the Rhine and advanced to the Main . Moving along the Main into Bavaria , the division participated in heavy fighting in Aschaffenburg from March 28 to April 3 and then drove to Nuremberg , taken in heavy fighting from April 16 – 20 . Moving south , the division crossed the Danube on April 26 , and opened up the path for the 20th Armored Division to drive on Munich . Reaching Munich on April 29 , the division shifted from combat to occupation . After a period of occupation duty , the 45th Infantry Division prepared to return to the United States and Major General Frederick relinquished command in September 1945 . From 1 November 1945 to 19 August 1947 he was commandant of the Coast Artillery School , and presided over its move from Fort Monroe to Fort Winfield Scott . After a period of staff duty and recuperation ( he had been wounded eight times ) , Major General Frederick was assigned to Allied occupation forces in Austria , commanding the U . S . Sector , of the Vienna Inter - Allied Command in 1948 . From February 28 , 1949 to October 10 , 1950 , he commanded the 4th Infantry Division , which had been reactivated as a training division at Fort Ord , California in 1947 . In October 1950 , the division was redesignated the 6th Infantry Division , and Frederick continued as its commanding general until 1951 . In 1951 , Frederick returned to Europe to take command of the Joint U . S . Military Aid Group , Greece ( JUSMAG Greece ) . He retired on disability in March 1952 . In the 1968 film " The Devil ' s Brigade " , which chronicled the formation , training and combat in Italy of the 1st Special Service Force , Robert T . Frederick was played by actor William Holden . Frederick died on November 29 , 1970 in Stanford , California . V - 42 combat knife . The V - 42 combat knife was designed in part by the commanding officer of the Devil ' s Brigade , Lt . Colonel Robert T . Frederick . This knife was the trademark weapon of the Devil ' s Brigade , and its members were trained extensively in the use of this knife . The profile of this knife is the one pictured on the crest of the US Army Special Forces and Canada ' s JTF2 . It is in the form of a short - bladed stiletto but with a thumb groove on the top of the blade to promote proper hand placement when attacking an opponent . It is often confused with the longer - and thicker - bladed Fairbairn - Sykes fighting knife . Decorations and awards . First Distinguished Service Cross citation . His official first Distinguished Service Cross citation reads : Second Distinguished Service Cross citation . His official second Distinguished Service Cross citation reads : Major general Frederick´s ribbon bar with all his decorations :