CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, April 22, 2024

by William Hamilton, J.D., Ph.D.

Skiing with Norway’s greatest World War II Hero

In the winter of 1969, yours truly deployed with the 19th USAF Headquarters and a squadron of F-4 fighters to Norway for an exercise with the Norwegian Air Force and the Norwegian Ski Brigade. As the only infantry officer skier on staff, I ended up befriended by Lt. Colonel Knut Haukelid, one of the commandos who blew up the heavy water plant near Telemark*, and who sank a train/ferry carrying heavy water for Hitler’s atomic bomb program.

One Friday morning in Oslo’s Holmenkollen Hotel, Major General "Hank" Thorne said, "Bill, let’s chopper up north to visit the Norwegian Ski Brigade." Two hours later, we were in a rustic log cabin greeted warmly by Colonel Keel (maybe, spelled Kiel?) who told us, on Monday, his brigade would begin a three-day ski maneuver.

Making nice-nice with our NATO ally, General Thorne mentioned how much we Americans admired The Heroes of Telemark*. In response, Colonel Keel threw open the cabin door, calling out, "Knut, please come in here." So, in walks Lt. Colonel Knut Haukelid, whose bone-crushing handshake belied his relatively small frame.

As we drank coffee, we discussed how our F-4s could provide air cover for the Brigade’s movements. It was going well for me until Colonel Keel asked General Thorne if some U.S. officer could ski along.

General Thorne said, "Major Hamilton, despite his USAF flight suit, is actually an Army infantry officer who is an excellent skier. Bill can be back here early Monday. But he will need skis and some field gear." "No problem," said Colonel Keel. "Knut will take care of his kit. Major Hamilton can ski in his tracks."

Unknown to General Thorne, I was suffering from a painful plantar wart next to the big toe (the Piggie who went to market) on my left foot. The foul swamps of Vietnam gave many foot soldiers a case of verruca vulgaris.

Returning to Oslo, the 19th USAF Surgeon called the U.S. Embassy, arranging for the embassy’s Norwegian contract physician to operate that evening. Armed with antibiotics and pain pills, I returned to the hotel, nursing several stitches. Flown back north on Monday, I was skiing in the tracks of Norway’s greatest WWII hero who, as promised, saw that I did not break anything. Indeed, we became good friends and we kept in touch over the years via snail-mail.

Three years later, when I commanded an airborne battalion in W. Germany, Knut and I cooked up an Adventure Training scheme where one of my platoons would night drop near Telemark, pick up skis hidden in the snow by Knut, ski to Norsk Hydro, scale the cliffs, and reenact the famous raid on the heavy water plant. A story for a later date. Stay tuned.

*In the movie, Richard Harris played a composite of Knut Haukelid and several other commandos.

**A grateful Norway promoted Haukelid to Lt. General, commanding the Oslo Home Guard; however, in order to ski with his beloved Ski Brigade, Knut would revert to his active-duty Lt. Colonel rank and serve under Colonel Keel.

NB: These stories will continue until morale improves.

©2024. William Hamilton.

Email: drwm.hamilton@gmail.com