[April 26, 2015] When we think of heroes from World War II, we immediately think of the Allied military men who risked their lives and endured great hardships to do something spectacular. Virginia Hall was a civilian working for both the British and American clandestine services; she was known to the Nazi Gestapo as “the woman with a limp. She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies and we must find and destroy her.”1
Her actions across Europe to help defeat the Nazi war machine is not well known because of the secrecy of her service. Fortunately, much has been declassified and now we know the story of this brave woman. Working as an agent in the British Special Operations Service (SOE) she spent 15 months in France helping supply resistance fighters, sabotage German supply lines, helping POW escape from prison camps, and assisting downed pilots.2
After the SOE refused to send her back to Europe, she joined the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Disguised as an old lady in France she monitored German troop movements, operated an undercover radio, helped organize the French resistance, arranging for weapons and supplies, and assisted with delaying German troop movements when the Allied invasion came. After the beginning of the Allied effort began, her teams switched tactics and attacked the German military directly. 2
Today, we honor the bravery of Virginia Hall and recognize her as a true American hero.
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