Video
Arrival of OSS Recruits at Catoctin Part 1
Transcript
Somewhere in America, the United States is developing hundreds of recruits for this specialized service. Hand picked with the aid of Army and Navy intelligence facilities, the men are taken under guard (shown here being driven in trucks) to the secret training camp which is to be their home for the weeks to follow. The area is located high in an eastern mountain range miles from the nearest village and under constant guard by U.S. soldiers and Marines. This isolated heavily wooded terrain offers an excellent proving ground for the student of guerrilla tactics. Classes are limited to less than a dozen men thus ensuring the utmost security and providing almost individual instruction for each student. From the moment of their induction, the identities of the recruits remain a carefully guarded secret which explains the use of masks in this film. From whence they came or for what perilous mission they're being prepared is a concern if nobody at camp. In this group there are some who speak very little English. One of them has fought in four wars, two of them are veteran guerrillas from the Spanish Loyalist forces. Several have seen their relatives and friends die at the hands of the enemy.
Description
OSS recruits arrive at Catoctin. Actual footage from OSS training videos produced by John Ford. To see more OSS movie clips see https://www.nps.gov/cato/historyculture/oss1.htm
Duration
1 minute, 38 seconds
Credit
National Archives
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