Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 99 Born 7 July 1920, the Truro N.S. native signed on for service in the Second World War on Dec. 12, 1940 at age 20 with the Canadian Artillery. He then transferred to the First Canadian Parachute Battalion and was later recruited to the Canada-USA First Special Service Force (FSSF). The elitely-trained, highly-decorated and undefeated unit served as the precursor to modern-day special forces. They were also called the Devil’s Brigade, but to their German enemies, Peppard and his comrades became fearfully known as the Black Devils, because of their stealth and successful captures under darkness. Following the disbandment of the FSSF in November 1944, Peppard rejoined his original parachute battalion. During that same year, he was awarded one of America’s highest military honours, the Silver Star (for gallantry in action) and in 2015 he travelled to Washington, where along with 41 other surviving members of the Devil’s Brigade, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian medal that can be awarded by the United States. Peppard, who rose to the rank of sergeant, also received the USA Bronze Star, for Heroism / Outstanding Achievement. He served until Sept. 6, 1945 and the summer following his return home (10 June, 1946), he married his Greta (MacPhee). For a number of years, Peppard worked on the railroad until later establishing a successful electrical construction business. He went on to upgrade his education to a B.A. and B.Ed. and taught the trade at the Lunenburg Regional Vocational School in Bridgewater until he retired. In 1994 Peppard wrote a humourous and heartwarming book called; “The LightHearted Soldier: A Canadian's Exploits with the Black Devils in WWII”. Peppard was born in the house where he grew up, on Alice Street in Truro, and where he raised his own family and continued to reside until being transferred to Camp Hill following an injury. He led an extremely active life and in addition to being a decorated war veteran, was also an author, poet, singer, newspaper columnist, public speaker and former bodybuilder; he was Nova Scotia Masters Bodybuilding Champion in 1983 (at age 63) and again in 1988 (age 68), for which he was inducted into the Colchester Sports Hall of Fame as a provincial pioneer and champion of the sport. Peppard was also a life member of Colchester Branch Legion in Truro; founding member and president of the Veterans’ Widows and Widowers Association and he initiated the Veterans Memorial Highway Garden project alongside Highway 102 in Truro Heights. In June 2016, he was honoured with a ceremony to officially open a public park in his name across the street from his boyhood home on the site of the former Alice Street Elementary school. Herb Peppard, Canadian and Hometown Hero, passed away at Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax on 12 June 2019 at the young age of 99 years. Herb Peppard Sergeant Herbert Peppard The “Devil's Brigade” - WWII
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