It's said that the greatest heroes hail from humble origins, and when World War II exploded
into the history books, surely nobody would have predicted that a dentist would become
one of the world's most elite soldiers, but it’s true.
Today we're taking a look at the orthodontist who became the first US Navy SEAL.
US SEALs are world renowned as some of the best special forces operators in history.
Fielding the most advanced, and often highly classified, equipment anywhere in the world,
SEALs are routinely sent to do impossible missions in impossible places.
Trained to operate in the sea, air, and land- hence the name, SEAL- SEALS are deadly warriors
who can reach any target anywhere it chooses to hide.
From counterterrorism to direct action missions, SEALs are flexible enough to be sent on a
hostage rescue mission one day, and to blow up an enemy dam the next.
To meet the stringent requirements of the Navy's SEAL training program you must not
only be physically tough, but mentally tough as well, with an iron will and an attitude
that doesn't know the meaning of the word quit.
Yet these legendary warriors can trace their lineage down to a single man widely recognized
as the first unofficial American SEAL.
Navy Lt. j.g.
Jack Taylor's service in World War II preceded the official formation of the US Navy SEALs
by almost twenty years, and yet he is the first US commando to have been trained, and
to have actually operated, on the sea, air and land.
As an orthodontist in Hollywood, California, Lt. Taylor answered his nation's call to arms
after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
A trained boater, Taylor assumed that he would become an instructor teaching boat handling
skills to US and Allied soldiers, but during his initial training he certified on the Lambertsen
Amphibious Respiratory Unit, a predecessor to modern SCUBA gear.
Having qualified on the water lung as it was also known, and with top marks for intelligence
and physical fitness, the Office of Strategic Services was quick to recruit him.
Established in June 1942, the Office of Strategic Services was America's response to the asymmetrical
warfare units of Germany, Japan, and Britain.
Seeing a need for a different kind of war, a much 'dirtier' type of warfare that would
take place behind enemy lines, the United States formed the OSS and gave it a degree
of autonomy from the rest of the military.
Famously recruiting American playboys, socialites and business elite, the OSS sought out operators
who were not just physically fit and could take orders, but who knew their way through
social situations and could blend in behind enemy lines.
For the majority of the war the rest of the US military would deride the OSS as a bunch
of playboys fooling around at war, but the reality is that OSS operators faced incredible
danger and were directly responsible for many of America's greatest successes during the
war.
OSS operators were trained in intelligence gathering, demolitions, sabotage, and even
in recruiting and organizing resistance movements.
They had to be able to swim through choppy seas, parachute behind enemy lines, and evade
enemy patrols through the wilderness.
They brought with them a bag of dirty tricks which could be used to sabotage enemy railway
lines, the engines of motor vehicles, or even poison and assassinate high priority individuals.
As was famously said of them, OSS operators were experts in ungentlemanly warfare.
Upon being recruited to the OSS, Taylor was assigned to the first Underwater Swimmer Group,
but was soon redirected to become the Chief of the Office of Strategic Service Maritime
Unit.
The MU as it was known was responsible for infiltrating agents and supply resistance
groups by sea, conducting maritime sabotage, and developing specialized maritime surface
and subsurface equipment and devices.
Its operators could be ferrying secret agents past enemy patrols into hostile territory
one day, and be swimming under the hull of a battleship and attaching an underwater limpet
mine to the bottom of the mighty ship the next.
Often these small teams of expert divers, boaters, and swimmers could do more damage
than several destroyers together could.
From September 1943 to March 1944, Taylor found himself operating in the Mediterranean.
Here Germany had been forced to send forces to aid its ally Italy after the Italians suffered
defeat after defeat to Britain's African forces.
With the allies holding key bases in the Mediterranean, the Axis powers waged a brutal campaign against
what they feared would become an allied toehold which could lead to an invasion.
To support the war, Taylor and his men helped deliver spies to their targets along the Greek
and Balkan coasts, as well as weapons, explosives, and other supplies to partisan forces behind
enemy lines.
As the Germans devastated allied supply convoys, Taylor and his men became critical in quickly
delivering critical supplies to allied forces, his small, agile boat proving difficult to
spot from the air.
For three months though, Taylor left the sea behind to personally lead a team of commandos
behind enemy lines in Central Albania.
There Taylor and his men carefully scouted out and reported on the location of enemy
fortifications, supply dumps, and artillery positions.
He would also shadow major troop movements and relay their plans via radio.
Aware that a team of enemy spies was in the area, the Germans hunted for Taylor and his
men time and again, yet on three separate times Taylor and his men narrowly avoided
the German ambushes.
For his daring feats behind enemy lines, Taylor would be nominated for the Army’s Distinguished
Service Cross, but being a sailor was instead awarded the Navy Cross instead.
After D-Day and the successful landings at Normandy, the allies began a push towards
Germany itself.
In Italy, Allied forces fought a brutal campaign north, pushing back the Germans inch by inch.
The whole way allied forces were helped by partisan groups who had often been fighting
the Germans for years behind enemy lines, yet as the allies prepared to break out of
Italy, military planners realized that they had no contact with partisan groups in Austria.
In order to break Germany's grip on Europe, the allies would need the help of these freedom
fighters, but making contact would be an extremely dangerous undertaking- and exactly the type
of mission the men of the OSS were perfect for.
Personally picked to lead a four-man team into Austria, Taylor was tasked with making
contact with Austrian partisans and gathering intelligence on German troops and fortifications.
Parachuting into Austria would fulfill Taylor's Air requirement of a sea, air, land commando,
and he became the first US soldier to conduct commando missions in all three domains.
However the mission ran into trouble almost from the get-go, with the pilots unable to
drop the team's radios and other major equipment after the men had jumped.
Accompanied by three Austrian corporals liberated from a POW camp, one of them became extremely
ill in the first few following the jump, and Taylor was injured on the jump.
Nonetheless the team gathered what equipment they could and began their mission to collect
intelligence and make contact with friendly Austrian partisan forces.
The team would photograph many German defensive positions, and made contact with and ascertained
the loyalty of various anti-German groups.
As the mission neared its end, they formed a network of supporters who could be counted
on to aid the Allies when the major push into Europe began.
Yet without a radio to communicate their critical information, the team was forced to attempt
to slip through German lines and into Italy to rejoin allied forces.
On the night before their escape attempt, Taylor and his men were ambushed at their
safe house and captured by German forces.
Delivered to the Gestapo, the Germans slapped and kicked Taylor around, trying to force
him to admit that he was a civilian and not a US officer, which would have exempted him
from Geneva convention protections.
Taylor steadfastly refused to make the false confession, and eventually he was transferred
to a holding cell and taken to a new interrogation.
There his interpreter would end up being an undercover allied agent who was so visibly
shaken at recognizing Taylor, that in a later report Taylor would say that he was afraid
the agent would blow his cover.
The German commander asked about Taylor's mission and then asked why the Americans were
bombing them when they had never once launched an attack against the US. Taylor quickly pointed
out the fact that the only reason the Germans hadn't bombed the US was because they were
thankfully out of range.
Then the commander asked him how long he thought the war would last, and Taylor said six months-
to which the commander agreed.
However when he asked him who would win and Taylor said the allies, the commander laughed.
In less than a year the Germans would surrender.
After four months of interrogations, Taylor was eventually transferred to the infamous
extermination camp of Mauthausen.
After the guards there discovered that Taylor was an American officer, he initially received
humane treatment, even being offered cigarettes and brandy, yet when he refused to cooperate
with his interrogators he was stripped of his legal status as a captured POW and instead
labeled a political prisoner.
This was a violation of the Geneva Convention, but allowed the Germans to dispose of him
as they wished.
His uniform was taken away and he was forced to dress in civilian clothing.
He was beaten several times and witnessed numerous executions of other prisoners.
During his stay at Mauthausen Taylor was twice scheduled for execution, but the first time
a friendly worker in the camp's political office spotted his execution order in a stack
of orders for other prisoners.
The worker snuck Taylor's order away and secretly burned it.
The German camp officers however eventually realized that Taylor was still alive when
he very much shouldn't have been, and scheduled a second execution.
Before the date arrived though, the German guards fled the camp as the American 11th
Armored Division approached and liberated it.
Just a few hours after liberation, Taylor was being filmed by an American film crew
who was documenting the various prisoner and extermination camps.
He gave the film makers a detailed account of daily life for the prisoners, as well as
the inhumane and cruel actions of the guards.
At the Nuremberg trials after the war, Taylor would testify as a key witness against the
German war criminals, ensuring their sentencing for crimes against humanity.
Lieutenant Taylor preceded the official establishment of the US Navy SEALs by almost twenty years,
and yet his courage and actions behind enemy lines set the standard for what would be expected
of future SEALS.
While he may never have officially been one, each new American SEAL can trace back their
warfighting heritage to the man who was the first American commando to operate from the
sea, air, and land.
Think you have what it took to be a World War II commando?
Let us know in the comments.
And if you liked this video, make sure you watch our other video The Insanely Crazy Story
of a Tiny Soldier, and don't forget to Like, share, and subscribe for more great content!