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Hunter's Hellcats was a special forces team during World War II, led by Lt. Benjamin Hunter.

History

In the early 1940s, the United States Army chose a former homicide detective named Ben Hunter to lead a new Special Forces team to fight the threat of the Axis powers. Unlike more conventional military units like Easy Co. or the Haunted Tank, Lt. Hunter's team was considered an expendable party. He culled his soldiers from the riff raff of an army prison stockade – all of whom had served time as hardened criminals in their civilian life.[1] Among his recruits was the excessively violent Brute, a con-man who appropriately took to calling himself Snake-Oil, a revenge-crazed soldier from the Woman's Army Corps named Heller, a pick-pocket named Light Fingers, a former acrobat named Juggler and several others.[1]

Hunter's Hellcats executed several intense missions during the waning years of World War II operating in both the Pacific and European theaters. The group was dissolved in 1945 shortly following the surrender of Japan to Allied forces. The members of Hunter's Hellcats went their separate ways to eke out a new life for themselves in the post-war civilian world. Lt. Hunter remained with the U.S. Army and ultimately achieved the rank of Colonel.[1] The fate of the remaining Hellcats, or whether they are even still alive remains unknown.


Trivia

  • Ben Hunter dubbed the team Hellcats based upon their violent behavior when they were imprisoned inside the army stockade.
  • Hunter's Hellcats is likely inspired by the 1967 war film, The Dirty Dozen. In the movie, Lee Marvin's character forms a military unit culled from a group of hardened criminals. The Hellcats also share a similar premise to the 1967-1968 TV series Garrison's Gorillas, which in turn was inspired by The Dirty Dozen.

See Also

Links and References

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