OSS Detachment 101
Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services (formed under the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI) just weeks before it evolved into the OSS) operated in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. On 17 January 1956, it was awarded a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation by President Dwight Eisenhower, who wrote: "The courage and fighting spirit displayed by its officers and men in offensive action against overwhelming enemy strength reflect the highest tradition of the armed forces of the United States." Detachment 101 was "the first American unit ever assembled to conduct guerrilla warfare, espionage and sabotage behind enemy lines." == History == Detachment 101 was the creation of Millard Preston Goodfellow, a leading figure at COI, and Director of Special Activities/Goodfellow (SA/G), which would later become the Special Operations Branch. "On April 14, 1942, William Donovan, as Coordinator of Information (which evolved into the Office of Strategic Services that June), activated Detachment 101 for action behind enemy lines in Burma.