OSS Detachment 101

Detachment 101 training camp at Nazira.
Squad of Kachin Rangers.
Celebrating Eifler's promotion to colonel in the field.
Merrill and Stilwell meet near Naubum, Burma.
OSS Detachment 101 officers
Left to right: Jingpaw Rangers, Headquarters, and Kachin Rangers shoulder sleeve insignia.

Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services (formed under the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI) just weeks before it evolved into the OSS) operated in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. On 17 January 1956, it was awarded a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation by President Dwight Eisenhower, who wrote: "The courage and fighting spirit displayed by its officers and men in offensive action against overwhelming enemy strength reflect the highest tradition of the armed forces of the United States."[1]

Detachment 101 was "the first American unit ever assembled to conduct guerrilla warfare, espionage and sabotage behind enemy lines."[2]

  1. ^ Peers, William R. and Dean Brelis. Behind the Burma Road:The Story of America’s Most Successful Guerrilla Force. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1963, p. 243-244.
  2. ^ Staff, HistoryNet (12 June 2006). "World War II: America's Office of Strategic Services' Struggle to Regain Burma". HistoryNet. Retrieved 28 June 2024.