In 2018, a handful of veterans from the Armed Forces Special Command together with former head of the Home Guard in Trøndelag Ebbe Deraas established the association “ OSS Gjefsjoen ”. In the summer of 2021, the reconstruction of the building that was the headquarters for the operation is completed. Friday, September 3, it was & nbsp; opening ceremony with invited guests at Gjefsjøen Fjellgård in Snåsa.
Among guests and speakers were Torgeir Gråtrud Chief of the Norwegian Special Forces, Chief of Norwegian Home Guard Elisabeth Michelsen, Mayor of Snåsa Arnt Einar Bardal, County Mayor Tore O. Sandvik, Lars William Lilleby Chief of the Armed Forces Special Command (FSK), Jens Junge head of Trøndelag Homehuard District, representatives from the US Embassy, volunteer participants, the family of Herbert Helgesen who participated in Rype, representatives of the Homeguard Task Force RYPE and not least Ebbe Deraas and Kristian Nastad who have been initiators and led the project. Ebbe Deraas is also former head of Trøndelag Homeguard District.
The diving team from HV12’s Task Force Rype provided boat transport across Gjefsjøen from the Swedish side, representatives of the homeland security youth in Trøndelag assisted with the serving during the dinner. 339 Squadron from Rygge, which is also a dedicated helicopter capacity for the Armed Forces’ special forces with helicopter transport for VIP guests
– There is a historical line from Gjefsjøen to Kabul, and what happened here on Gjefsjøen is the basis for the military partnership that the USA and Norway have today, says William Langenheim who is a representative from the US Embassy in Norway. – Several American lives were saved because they received treatment at the Norwegian field hospital in Kabul this week before Norway and the USA left Kabul together. We will not forget this, he says.
– With the opening today, a milestone has now been passed. This is now an important memorial for US and Norwegian history, says Ebbe Deraas who has led the project.
– We are on historical grounds. Here was the humble beginning of the Norwegian-American military cooperation, says commander of the special forces in Norway, Torgeir Gråtrud who drew the historical lines between the Home Guard, the special force and the operation on Gjefsjøen during the war. Torgeir Gråtrud also dropped bottle number 1 of „Gjefsjøakevitt – Operasjon Rype 1945” . The headquarters of Operation Rype will now never run out of aquavit.
From Herbert Helgesen’s family, Ebbe Deraas was presented with a licour bottle that has belonged to Helgesen who participated in Rype. The bottle was on the plane that crashed on Plukkutjønnfjellet, while Helgesen himself was on another plane.
Norwegian TV (NRK) reporting form the opening, interwieving representative from US Embassy.
WW2 sabotage
Operasjon rype
In the last months of the war during spring 1945. Gjefsjøen Mountain Farm was a central location as part of the sabotage operation "Operasjon Rype". The saboteurs had their headquarter at the farm. Operasjon Rype's mission was to sabotage the railroad through Trøndelag and Snåsa. Today Home Guard's task force "Rype" is named after the operation.
Restoring of Operasjon Rype's headquarter
OSS Gjefsjøen
The building which was headquarter for Operation Rype was in bad shape after standing empty for years. OSS Gjefsjøen are now restoring the building. The association OSS Gjefsjøen will convey the story of Operasjon Rype which in the final phase of World War II operated from its base on Gjefsjøen mountain farm. The building will be restored in the original appearance from when Operasjon Rype was carried out.
Licour based on local herbs and plants from Gjefsjøen
Gjefsjøakevitt (Aquavit)
Distilled at Inderøy Brenneri (distillery) based on pure water, plants, herbs and botanicals from Gjefsjøen Mountain Farm. Made as a tribute to the heros from Operasjon Rype who had their base at Gjefsjøen in the end og World War II.
