Hasler was born in Dublin in 1914, lost his father when the transport Transylvania was torpedoed in 1917, and entered the Royal Marines in 1932. During the Norwegian campaign he served as liaison officer to the French Foreign Legion at Narvik. That work brought him an OBE, a mention in dispatches, and the French Croix de Guerre, an exceptional group of honors for a young Marine officer. For Frankton he received the DSO after a Victoria Cross recommendation failed because his successful stealth was judged not to have placed him literally in the face of enemy fire.
Chapter · 33:41-37:55
Hasler's early service and wartime honors
Hasler's decorated service in Norway and leadership of Frankton reveal both his unusual ability and the formal limits of British gallantry awards.