On WW2 Darby Ranger James Altieri and his great book the Spearheaders

The Spearheaders: A Personal History of Darby's Rangers by James J. Altieri with a new introduction by MIr Bahmanyar and Colonel (retired) Mike Kershaw - Naval Institute Press with a release date of October 15, 2014

I had met Jim quite a few times at WW2 Ranger reunions and at his home in Newport Beach. I met him through Phil Stern – a famous Hollywood and Jazz photographer and I will write on Phil in a subsequent post. There is a lot to tell.

Jim was a great old school patriot – well he was old – ha! But we hit it off because of our mutual love for all things Ranger. When Jim passed his storage locker was surreptitiously confiscated and his collection was sold piece by piece on eBay. Eventually a good friend of his hunted me down and I drove south, I was living in LA at the time, and was handed a couple of boxes of his leftover collection. Really sad. But in any event, I dug through it all and still have it now in my basement. I did donate his onionskins of his great book to the curator at the Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland Ranger Museum (I’ll write about my trip there and the great people preserving our Ranger history). It was in Carrickfergus that the original American commandos were founded – the First Ranger Battalion. A bunch of hard charging soldiers of the highest order - superior to Ultramarines if you are a 40K fan.. They were trained by British commandos and participated in a ton of campaigns – Dieppe, North Africa, Sicily, and main land Italy. Eventually they were wiped out near Anzio, Italy. They basically led the way fighting Vichy French, Germans including the Afrika Korps, Italians and more Germans. Some of the survivors joined another elite outfit the Canadian-American First Special Service Force. Jim never revelled in the wartime actions. The battle where his men got wiped out near Anzio is barely covered in his book and neither are the details revealed of the gruesome hand-to-hand combat against Italians in North Africa. That is something to think about. https://www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/things-to-do/museums-arts/andrew-jackson-cottage/

Jim did a great deal to preserve WW2 Ranger history. I managed to get his old book reprinted by the very kind and professional Susan Brook at the Naval Institute Press. I also found another manuscript on the 6th Ranger Battalion’s raid in 1945 on the POW camp at Cabanatuan, the Philippines. It is missing the first couple of pages but…

 Here is Jim’s bio I wrote for his new/old book released in 2014.

Captain James Altieri. You can see his Ranger BN combat scroll on his shoulder. Source: Mir

James J. Altieri was born in Philadelphia, PA on March 4, 1920 and passed away on April 18, 2008 in Newport Beach, CA. A former steelworker at Lukens Steel Company near Philadelphia, he enlisted on October 8, 1941 and joined the 68th Field Artillery of the First Armored Division. While serving with the 1st AD in Northern Ireland, he volunteered for the 1st Ranger Battalion, which had been officially activated on June 19, 1942. 

Altieri was promoted from First Sergeant to Second Lieutenant with the 4th Ranger Battalion on November 21, 1943 and to First Lieutenant on February 25, 1944. He participated in six campaigns, 17 battles and four assault landings through North Africa, Sicily and Italy and was wounded twice during the Volturno-Venafro Campaign.  The 4th Ranger Battalion was deactivated in October 1944 at Camp Buckner, North Carolina. He was the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Jim Altieri also served as a Public Relations Officer for the Tennessee Military Authority.  He was honorably discharged in 1946 as a Captain.

After the Second World War Jim ran an unsuccessful campaign as the independent Democratic candidate for Mayor in Philadelphia. 

Jim stayed in touch with many Darby veterans and he even managed to seal the records of the criminal trial in Los Angeles County of Ranger Captain Charles M. “Chuck” Shunstrom who had brazenly robbed a gas station at gunpoint in 1946.

Recalled to active duty in 1951 Jim served with the Army’s Office of Information coordinating the production of Hollywood movies. In this position he supervised the feature long color documentary, This is Your Army.  He was promoted to Major.

After his service Jim continued his career as an author, having written Darby’s Rangers (1945) which inspired the 1958 Warner Brothers film Darby’s Rangers starring the iconic actor James Garner, with his subsequent memoir The Spearheaders (1960) and several screenplays. He served as military technical advisor on films such as Force of Arm (1951) and Darby’s Rangers (1958).  

Jim continued his service to the Ranger community as a civilian, becoming President and Chairman of numerous WWII Ranger associations.  Jim spearheaded the creation of the WWII Ranger Monument at Fort Benning, Georgia. 

From the 1960 edition:

The outlook for a victory of the Allied Powers was dim in the spring of 1942. Britain was being unmercifully bombed and threatened with invasion. Rommel's forces were rampaging across North Africa toward Alexandria. Only two American divisions had arrived in the European theatre. Stationed in Ireland, they were green, untested troops, their combat deployment a matter of speculation even to the high command.

It was then that General Lucien K. Truscott conceived the plan of organizing an American commando unit to be known as the "Rangers," a name made famous in American history. "On every frontier the name has been one of hope for those who required protection; of fear, for those who have lived outside the law."

Major William O. Darby was placed in command of the first Ranger Battalion. Darby proved himself an officer of such extraordinary powers of leadership that his unit was forever after known as "Darby's Rangers." This was the organization destined to be the first American ground forces to battle the Germans in Africa and Europe in World War II.

The Spearheaders is an account from an enlisted man's point of view of the intensely dramatic career of the Rangers from their beginnings as soldiers in Ireland, through their grueling training in Scotland, to their role in the bloody fighting in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

First Lieutenant James Altieri - note Ranger unit patch on left shoulder. Source: Mir

This is a story of war as intimate and individual as the diaries, letters and memories on which it is based. Here are the courage, determination, hope and occasional moments of weakness of gallant American boys from the "next doors" of Maine and California, Oregon and Florida. Here, too, are unforgettable pictures of the grandeur and misery of war, bawdiness and bloodshed, its triumphs ultimate futilities.

Dominating the aggregation of his startlingly individualized subordinates is the commanding figure of Major Darby himself. Like Caesar he could call each of his men by name, congratulate them: "A helluva shoot . . . every company came through ... a beautiful job… now we got to get our tails out of here"; inspire them: "The outfit that can slip up the enemy and stun him with shock and surprise - that is the outfit that will win battles, and that is the outfit I want"; console them: "I'm sorry . . . damned sorry . . . I knew you would put on a good show."

The Spearheaders is no ordinary war history. In line with present Army doctrine, it demonstrates the value of tough, resourceful, hard-trained troops, capable of swift dispersal and penetration instead of massed movement susceptible to atomic blasts. Its vivid writing, its empathy with those who served, its appreciation of the Ranger spirit more than the Ranger achievements, make it rekindle in the hearts and minds of all Americans the great heritage, proud history and high ideals of their nation.