On Saturday, May 28, 2011, the surviving members of the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate) of the U.S. Army were awarded the Norwegian World War II Defense Medal (Deltagermedaljen) for their fight against the German occupation of Norway.
The medal was awarded by the Norwegian Chief of Defense, General Harald Sunde, as a part of his official visit to the United States, during a ceremony at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
The 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate) was activated at Camp Ripley, Minn. on July 19, 1942 per written instructions by the War Department. This unique, elite unit was to consist only of Norwegians and Americans of direct Norwegian descent. To be selected for the unit, soldiers were required to have a working knowledge of the Norwegian language, and soldiers who knew how to ski were also preferred. The group received further training at Camp Hale, Colo. The unit was formed with an eye toward a possible invasion and liberation of Norway, but it first saw combat action in France, Belgium and Germany before being implemented into the 474th Infantry Regiment and sent to Norway in June 1945 to disarm the German occupational force. The Battalion also contributed personnel to OSS Operation RYPE (often referred to as NORSO), which was an airborne, top secret commando mission into Northern Trøndelag toward the end of the war. The Battalion served as King Haakon VII's honor guard upon the King's return to Norway on June 7, 1945 after five years in exile. To date, the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate) is the only unit of the United States Army with a pure Norwegian history. It is truly unique and an important part of the joint history of Norway and the United States. Of the veterans receiving the medals at the ceremony, two, Herbert Bjerke and Jarvis Taylor, are local to the Washington, D.C. area.