Once Upon a Wartime: A Canadian Who Survived the Devil's Brigade

This first the author describes history in the making. It is a first hand account of a man's journey from adolescence into the life and death realities of World War II. As a member of the First Special Service Force -- a unique international commando unit later nicknamed The Devil's Brigade -- the author experience the war from unusual angles. His various wartime travels took him to locales as different as the Aleutians and the Atlas Mountains, and ultimately to Italy and southern France. The author's "baptism of fire" included the siege of LaDifensa, the landing at Anzio, the hard-fought road to Rome, and the French Riviera. His tale is a compelling one, of high adventure and the camaraderie of youth, of tragedy and triumph, of the near misses that only a survivor can tell about -- all of it told from the perspective of age.

Peter Layton Cottingham was born in rural Manitoba, Canada,on the 23rd of November 1921. Was educated in Swan River school and St. John's College School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1940 He joined the Canadian Army as Canada was at war with Ger,many.

He subsequently managed to transfer into an international parachute commando unit known as the First Special service Force. During his time with the Force (known as the Devil's Brigade) he served in the Aleutian Islands against the Japanese.

From there he shipped to North Africa and finally Italy where he saw action on several fronts including the liberation of Rome. After a short respite his unit made an assault on the South Coast of France which included the liberation of Grasse, Nice and Menton and many villages in between. Following the war he beacame a salesman and developer of a ski resort. Once Upon A wartime if his first book.