into action along the Mussolini Canal. They were the first Allied troops to enter the Italian capital of Rome on June 4, 1944. Frederick was decorated twice with the Distinguished Service Cross, the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor in combat. The first award was for actions on January 10–13, 1944 and the second award for actions on June 4, 1944. While at Anzio he was wounded a number of times, including two separate wounds on a single day. On June 23, 1944, Frederick announced he was leaving the unit. He was promoted to the one-star general officer rank of brigadier general in July, and was given command of the 1st Allied Airborne Task Force, an ad hoc division-sized airborne formation, for the Allied invasion of Southern France; he was the youngest general to command a division-size unit in World War II. The task force consisted of the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade and the American 509th and 551st Parachute Infantry Battalions, the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, the 550th Glider Infantry Battalion, and the 460th and 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalions, along with various support units. On August 15, under the code name Rugby Force, the unit jumped into the Argens Valley between Le Luc and Le Muy, behind the Massif des Maures, a key piece of terrain which overlooked the Allied landing beaches near St. Tropez and St. Raphaël. Having successfully blocked German forces from reaching the invasion beaches, the 1st Airborne Task Force linked up with the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on August 17, 1944. It then moved up the French Riviera coastline, taking Cannes unopposed on August 24, 1944 and linking up with Frederick's old unit, the 1st Special Service Force. The 1st Special Service Force had initially been tasked to seize several small islands off the French Riviera and then moved onshore, where it was attached to the 1st Airborne Task Force on August 22 (replacing the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade). The task force then fought on to the French-Italian border, where it took up defensive positions. The task force was dissolved on November 23, 1944 (and the 1st Special Service Force was disbanded on December 5). Frederick was, at the age of just 37, promoted to the two-star rank of major general and given command of the 45th Infantry Division on December 3, 1944. Along with Major General James M. Gavin, then