ALLIED spies & saboteurs
There is no way for me to include all the information for every spy and/or saboteur of WWII for two reasons – there were far too many and because they did their job and stayed top-secret. An example of this would be the French Resistance and the BCRA, made up of British, French and Cajun-American volunteers. But some, due to the fact that they became famous or their work finally de-classified, I have included here as a matter of interest.
Claire Phillips, aka Dorothy Clara Fuentes, aka Claire Fuentes, aka Madame Tsubaki was also known as “High Pockets” and the “American Mata Hari.” She operated a nightclub in Manila and used he cunning ways to extract data from the Japanese officers that frequented her establishment. The agent then sent her intel directly to Gen. MacArthur or the U.S. Navy. Claire managed to deliver food and other necessary items to Allied POWs and had an underground of Filipino guerrilla to assist her. Mrs. Fuentes was eventually caught, put on trial and sentenced to die, but this verdict was never carried out. She was liberated on 10 February 1945 and returned to the U.S. The movie, I Was an American Spy was based on her life.
Richard Sakakida was inadvertently included in Gen. Yamashita’s army when he moved east and was assigned to Japanese intelligence on Luzon. He gained the trust of the Imperial Army in Manila and gave what data he discovered to the Filipino ROTC Group of guerrillas until they were captured. Sakakida then began forging release papers to get some of the members out of prison. He was never suspected, but later slipped away from his post and hid out in northern Luzon for months. Although he had received medals for his work from the government, his actual loyalty was brought into question in later years.
Army Chief Warrant Officer, Arthur Komori, was an agent as part of the Counter Intelligence Corps. He enlisted with Richard Sakakida in Hawaii at the start of the war. He allowed himself to be captured and placed in a Japanese interment camp in the Philippines until he was ordered to escape by Gen. Wainwright 16 April 1942.
Julia McWilliams Child would gain fame as a chef and t.v. personality, but she performed far different duties during WWII. When the war began, she wanted to join the WACS or Waves, but was rejected due to her height of 6’2″. Instead, Julia became part of the OSS (forerunner of the CIA) and as one of her projects, she helped to develop a shark repellent for downed pilots and crews. Later on, she supervised an OSS facility in China where she dealt with top-secret documents and in Ceylon. Her life as a WWII agent was documented in the book, A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS.
Marlene Dietrich, better known for her work as an actress, was German born. She joined the OSS where she entertained the troops and then secretly broadcast propaganda to the weary enemy soldiers. She received the Medal of Freedom for her operations.
Elizabeth McIntosh was a war correspondent that began working with the OSS directly after Pear Harbor. While stationed in India, she intercepted and rewrote Japanese postcards being sent home. She also found an Imperial Order that discussed surrender terms and many other documents.
The OSS did most of its work in Europe and in Detachment 101 of the Burma-India-China Theater, where they trained Chinese soldiers to fight the Japanese and supplied target information to Gen. Chennault, the creator of the famous ‘Flying Tigers’ besides their regular duties. Both MacArthur and Nimitz refused their service and used their own intelligence units, but much of the OSS data was relayed to them via Washington. Allen Dulles was station chief of the OSS (his I.D. card is pictured at the top of the post) and looked and dressed like a middle-aged college professor. A lawyer by trade, he worked for the State Department during WWI. He collected intelligence with a complex espionage network. Dulles recruited Mary Bancroft, daughter to the publisher of “The Wall Street Journal” to analyze German newspapers, but she quickly became an agent in the cloak-and-dagger fashion.
Hans Bernd Gisevius, code name “Dr. Bernhard,” was an agent of the Alwehr, the German secret service (SS). In 1939, he became part of Schwarze Kapelle (the Black Orchestra), the group formed to kill Hitler. He contacted Dulles in 1943 and Mary Bancroft became his contact.
One group, barely spoken of, was the SOA (or Z Special Unit, as it is known today), the Special Operations of Australia. Many were barely 18 years old when they were recruited and trained to infiltrate the Japanese lines. They were formed by a group of British covert executives operating in Malaya in mid-1943; even the Australian Army was unaware of this unit’s existence. Over the 3 remaining years of the war, over 1,000 men were taught parachuting, explosives and espionage on Fraser Island. After their training, most were dropped on Borneo and other islands in S.E. Asia; over 100 were killed in combat. They even carried the infamous cyanide tablets. They were honor-bound by the Secrecy Act for 30 years to never speak of their activities; even as the other WWII soldiers were celebrated on ANZAC Day. Twenty-one remaining SOA men held their first reunion in 2010 on the island where they were trained.
The British spy who went by the code names, “Seahorse” and “Shelley” was the actual agent that inspired Ian Fleming to write his 007 series of books. Wing Commander Forest Frederick “Tommy” Yeo-Thomas was known to the German Gestapo as “The White Rabbit” and operated out of Vichy, France. An excellent accounting of his story is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._F._E._Yeo-Thomas
The most unsuspecting man (in my opinion) to become a spy – was already dead. Early 1943, Allied forces, planning their invasion, needed to convince the enemy that their landing site was somewhere else. “Operation Mincemeat” originally came from Ian Fleming. A Welsh laborer, already deceased after ingesting rat poison, had his pockets filled with false papers and left where the Germans could find him. The operation proved very successful.
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Farewell Salutes –
Paul Adams – Nebraska & Greenville, S.C.; U.S. Army WWII, Tuskegee Airman, 332nd Fighter Group
Pauline V. Simsovic – Dayton, OH & W. Palm Bch., FL; First Lieutenant WACS, WWII London
Marvin J. Newberg – Bronx, NY & Boca Raton, FL; First Lieutenant U.S. Army Air Force, B-25 navigator in India
Frank Richard Stranahan – Toledo, OH & W. Palm Bch., FL; U.S. Army Air Force, pilot, WWII
Richard Neuber – Port St. Lucie, FL.;U.S. Navy, WWII
Walter Stankard, Jr. – Waltham, MA & Boynton Bch., FL; U.S. Navy, USS Enoree, Korean War
Army Spc. John L. Burgess of Sutton Bay, Michigan, missing since his helicopter was shot down in 1970, Vietnam, was finally brought home for burial. He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in a single casket along with the partial remains of two members of his crew.
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Please stop back and see the article I wrote for Judy over at http://greatestgenerationlessons.wordpress.com. Let us know what you think of it. I will later re-blog the guest post for your convenience. Thank you.
Posted on July 8, 2013, in Uncategorized, WWII and tagged Australia, History, Intelligence, Military, Military History, OSS, Pacific War, Spies, veterans, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 99 Comments.
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You’re welcome, John.
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I was trying to find a suspected spy’s name and if there was a book about him. I once found a story(forgot place n info location) about a person the Germans caught and had awaiting examination in room. A German soldier came from room with some prisoners following him the waiting person from Greenville got in line behind the prisoners and exited with them knowing the German would never look behind himself. Made safe getaway . Any ideas who this man was and if there is a book about him. He reportedly survived war and returned to Greenville S C
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I’m afraid I do not. Since this site deals mainly with the Pacific War, that is not unusual, but should you discovery who, what or where – please come back and let me. Sounds interesting. [did you know that your Gravatar profile does not have a valid address for people to locate your site? I just tried to connect with WWIIGreenvilleSCvets and it come up with a 404 page (unable to locate). It might be worth your wild to correct this in your settings.]
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I go to see daily a few blogs and information sites to read posts, except this blog provides quality based writing.
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Thank you very much, Janelle. I just try to write the facts, leaving my own opinions out of the mix. (Sometimes I can’t keep my big mouth shut and rant a little, but I’ll always tell you it is my opinion.)
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Wow! A lot of interest in your good post, gpcox. Excellent. And thank you for straightening me out; I had Sakai DA and Komori switched in my mind. I also didn’t know Sakaida’s allegiance had been questioned. In a flip, that doesn’t show up in the Nisei texts. 🙂
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I think I got everyone’s curiosity going – I love it! These are things history class doesn’t bother to mention.
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Yes… As I believe you mentioned in a reply somewhere, WWII may be down to a page or so in school textbooks with more and more pages devoted to minority involvement in American history. Nothing negative being said or implied. Just fact.
My small children are in a “GATE” program at school; its for “students doing well in school”. All through their curriculum, they learned of how Native Americans were/are treated, how Black Americans were discriminated against, and how they contributed to the growth of the US. All of that is fine…except they never mention the “one country-ism” that existed during the war years. They don’t even talk about Korea or Viet Nam, for that matter. Personally, I find this disturbing.
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I believe I would have to make a visit the time the school board gets together and ask just HOW they chose their curriculum. There always has to be a balance of relating BOTH sides to the story. (Any story.)
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True… but the California public school system is nearly totally staffed by Liberals. I think someone would need to lie if they were Conservative during a hiring interview! 🙂
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That would make things tough. Home schooling would end up being the answer.
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Thanks for liking my post “Tilted.” You have written fascinating historical posts, and I will enjoy reading them. Thanks.
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I appreciate you stopping in to tell me so. It makes me very happy to know you enjoy them.
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Love the spy stories! Are you seeing enough ’40’s fashion on my blog to suit you?
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You most definitely came through. When I do the fashion guest post for Greatest Generations, you will notice a few familiar photos and link to your site.
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Thanks so much! I really appreciate your loyalty, and stay tuned. We’re not done yet!
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It always amazes me how much detail you put into all your posts. Thank you for teaching us so much.
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Thank you. The information is out there, the problem being – it’s scattered all over. I just try to rope it all in to one place and welcome any and all info the readers have to help do that.
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This is really great stuff–the real deal that you do not find in k-12 history texts…..
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I suppose the text books couldn’t cover everything. I enjoy the different underlying stories as well – I get to learn something as I research.
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I am sure. But you are being too easy on the textbooks. I was a teacher for over 15 years–not a history teacher–but I worked with some. Most were atrocious, all boring and much of it was just mainstream dribble. High school texts were better.
But your photo-journalistic style trumps the everyday blandness of history and gives it a much more realistic and authentic feel.
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That is more of a compliment than I could ever ask for. Didn’t you find textbooks to be just a list of dates?
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Well, most history teachers that I know don’t really care about dates. They are more concerned about order of events, I just find them to be plain boring with no life to them. I think if you–and other guest speakers would come into a classroom and tell a real-life story about something that happened to you or about someone you knew–that would be an effective way of teaching. Or perhaps a textbook that tells about the REAL Lincoln, for example, with facts and stories that conventional textbooks ignore.
Anyway, sorry to ramble on. I’m glad you thought my last comment was a compliment :0
Take care…..
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I think if the true stories were told, such as one about the REAL Lincoln, too many idols would be toppled. Perhaps that’s why the textbooks are boring.
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Well, so be it. I’d rather have kids be told the truth rather than a bunch of watered down and boring facts.
At least have the textbooks give multiple views.
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Very true. By the method that I was taught history was boring, I only became interested because of the way my father explained what I was supposed to be learning.
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Well that is a good thing. Congrats. Perhaps he should have been a history teacher. Was he?
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No, self-taught & well-read.
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No. He was a very avid reader and excellent listener.
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that’s even better :-
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You certainly would make a great addition to regular classroom presentations. Maybe more young people would enjoy learning about history if you told these same stories.
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Actually, it was my father who made history interesting for me. For at least an hour after dinner each night, we would have a talk and it would somehow spread in all directions. Eventually we never scheduled our talks because we did it constantly. Parents should try it with their kids – it might surprise them – they just might like it.
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Awesome post, riveting in detail!
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Thanks so much, good to see you again.
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I am amazed at the courage of the people working to keep the U.S. abreast of the enemy’s plans. I never realized there were so many women working to help our intelligence missions. You have really educated me about the war’s many facets and efforts..it’s like peeling layers of an onion. Excellent reading, as always.
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Great analogy, Mouse and thank you. Many women wanted to serve, but were not afforded the chances to do so, as they are today.
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Very interesting post, and there were, of course, equivalent agents operating in Europe in the Second World War, including a young woman working for the British SOE. in France, called Noor Inayat Khan…
As the above link reveals, she was betrayed, and eventually executed at Dachau in 1944, and a statue commemorating her was unveiled in London’s Gordon Square in early November, 2012…
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Thank you for adding the links. It becomes more of a community project to gather up all the stories we can for posterity when friends contribute. Again, thank you.
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My mother’s uncle, Gordon Browne, was in the OSS in North Africa and later the CIA. I never met him, but heard stories about him during my childhood, when I really couldn’t understand the importance of the work he and others were doing on our behalf.
Great article!
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Those would have been great stories to have – no one in your family remembers them?
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My sister may remember more. There is a book called “A North Africa Story” by Carleton S Coon where my Great Uncle Gordy is mentioned several times.
Umm, not sure I did that link right, so clean it up if need be.
Regards, Barb
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The link took me to Google books, where you can read parts of the book for free and I read some about your Great Uncle Gordy. Fabulous addition to the collection of stories here. Thanks a lot, Barbara for not only reading, but helping to contribute.
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Fascinating and all done in the days of low tech, time consuming communications. Makes you appreciate the effort and dedication these souls made on both sides of the fence.
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Can you just imagine… using teletype, static laden radios and human replay systems, etc.? They not only got the info, but sent it back – to kids today – they really did operate in the dinosaur days!
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Isn’t it amazing that 70 years ago truly does seem like the dinosaur age of communication. It would have been a completely different scenario with today’s electronic devices.
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Yes, it does. On t.v. today the helicopter pilots look like a sci-fi movie.
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Once again a fascinating read of these forgotten people and their dangerous work.
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Thank you, Mike.
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Fascinating reading, especially coming from my background. 😉
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Glad to hear from you, Kevin. I was wondering what you’d say.
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Your posts always amaze me. History at its best
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Thanks so much, Bee.
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Always enjoy a good spy story, and true ones are extra special. I could have read an entire post about each one.
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Isn’t that the truth! I just want to pique curiosity in everyone, not do their homework for them. Thanks for dropping in, Bev.
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That was a fascinating article, thank you..
I intensely disliked Julia Childs from her book about herself…but her war record makes me see her in a new light.
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As Su Leslie and I said, you never know what going on in someone else’s mind.
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Hey, I was going to say fascinating too! It truly was. What exactly did Elizabeth Mackintosh do with postcards?
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She rewrote the messages being sent back to Japan and forwarded them on.
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Braver people than me, all of them. Thanks for sharing the information:)
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Myself included in that one.
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gpcox – your incredible research does it again. Ian Fleming ??? What an amazing story.
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Everybody had to come from somewhere – so do ideas – end result – Ian Fleming w/ 007.
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Great cloak and dagger stuff, the best part, it actually happened.
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Isn’t that the truth!! Fact is ALWAYS stranger than fiction.
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Another book mark! Great post!
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Thanks, Buffalo.
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Fascinating post! This could trigger a whole summer of reading and watching movies on this theme. You say there are far too many to fit into your blog? But this is more than I’d ever heard of, for reasons you make clear. I would enjoy learning more.
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Thanks, maybe the next post about the Axis spies will add to your curiosity as well. Disperser added a link in his comment for the movie ‘The Man Who Never Was’ you should enjoy it. (also, check out http://disperser.wordpress.com)
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Once again I was riveted by your account of individual bravery and sacrifice. Fascinating. However, I always find myself spending extra time on the “farewell salute” section, acknowledging one last time the quiet service of these individuals. Thanks for taking the time to include it.
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I don’t get many comments on the Farewell Salute, so I am thrilled to hear that someone feels the same as I. Thanks, Trapper. By the way, any new western art coming up?
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Honestly, I think the Farewell Salute is one of my favorite features of your blog – I appreciate the effort put into it, and I also appreciate the reminder to remember those who served, often without public recognition.
And yes, of course I have more art coming up. Thanks for asking.
Trapper Gale.
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I appreciate your comments more than you know Trapper and I’ll look forward to seeing the art.
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Fascinating post! Loved the female attention you provided. I never knew that Julia and her sister were a part of the OSS.
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Glad you enjoyed it, stop back.
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Great writing. I have been to Fraser Island. Wish I’d known more about it’s history. A beautiful place.
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That is a shame. Any chance of you going back?
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Maybe one day. Australia is a fantastic country.
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I know my dad always wanted to make a return trip, so it has to be!!:)
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Again… A great post paying homage to those who could not tell.
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I hope I did them justice. Thanks for the encouragement, Pierre.
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Great job, I did not know that about Julia Child.
Did you know that Coumadin is rat poison?
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_Coumadin_have_rat_poison_in_it
Coumadin is pushed by doctors to help thin the blood however, a few baby aspirins work just as well. If you read the above article I am guessing the native Americans must be Rats because we are extremely allergic to Coumadin?
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No, I didn’t know that. I’ve known many people who used it to thin the blood, but never knew what the chemical make-up was.
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Absolutely fascinating. Julia Child? Who’da thunk it? I knew about Marlene Dietrich and how she hated Hitler. There’s just something so intriguing about spy stories! I remember watching an old movie on Netflix that was the same story as the “Operation Mincemeat” and I can’t for the life of me remember the name of it. If I think of it, I’ll let you know.
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Please do, the idea seems very similar to me as well. Thanks for commenting, always enjoy your visits, Linda.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Never_Was
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Thank you – that was was driving me crazy!!
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Wow. Great post; especially the bit about Julia Child. I used to watch her on TV when I was a kid and I’d never have suspected she had such an interesting past. Guess that’s how she was good at her job 🙂
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It also might explain why she was always taking a nip from the wine bottle while she was cooking. God only knows what she saw over there.
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Yes; I remember that. And her distinctive voice. I just thought all TV chefs drank (the Kiwi ones certainly did), but she probably had more reason than most.
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One never knows what goes on in someone else’s head – do we?
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Fascinating. Truly enjoyed your post 🙂
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Thanks ‘Notes’, right back atcha!!
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It was a country and nations unified to one cause!!
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Thank you.
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