Memorial Stone OSS Norso Group

The memorial stone in Lien commemorates that part of Colby's NORSO group was accidentally dropped over Lake Landösjön and turned over to the Swedish police. The group was then taken to a farm in Lien, from where they were taken to Östersund in captivity. But the captivity was neither severe nor prolonged. The NORSO paratroopers who fell over Lien received secret help from the Swedish authorities to finally reach the main base at Lake Jävsjön. They succeeded precisely in blowing up several more bridges.

From a larger perspective, the paratroopers' visit to Lien was a seemingly insignificant detail in the vast and bloody Second World War, but the OSS activities in Sweden, of which Lien was a part, say a lot about how involved Sweden became in World War II. These wartime ties with the U.S. became important to Sweden's postwar politics.

The text on the stone:
The following members of the OSS NORSO Group landed here by parachute at 0200 hours on March 25 1945. T/Sgt Leif Oistad, Cpl Knut Andreasen, T/5 Tom Rusdal, T/5 Sivert Windh, T/5 Eddie Hovland. They later reached Norway to take part in the liberation of North Trondelag

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Source

• Text: Lars Gyllenhaal
• Photos: Lammert Melk
• Operation Rype - Wikipedia