A STORY OF A WOMAN WHO FOUGHT IN WW2.
There are more stories of heroism out of World War II than can ever fit in a school textbook, but hundreds of those stories are written down somewhere for those who want to find them. Over 100 million military personnel participated in the war, including many women. Here is the story of one of those brave women. They did their part and more for the Allied effort.
1. Nancy Wake: Guerrilla Fighter
Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Nancy Wake was a journalist in New York and London and then married a wealthy Frenchman and was living in Marseille when Germany invaded. Wake immediately went to work for the French resistance, hiding and smuggling men out of France and ferrying contraband supplies and falsified documents. She was once captured and interrogated for days, but gave no secrets away. With the Nazis in hot pursuit, Wake managed to escape to Britain in 1943, and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a British intelligence agency. After training with weapons and parachutes, she was airdropped back into France -as an official spy and warrior. Wake had no trouble shooting Nazis or blowing up buildings with the French guerrilla fighters known as maquis in the service of the resistance. She once killed an SS sentry with her bare hands. After the war, Nancy Wake was awarded the George Medal from the British, the Medal of Freedom from the U.S., and the Médaille de la Résistance and three Croix de Guerre from France, among other honors. She also found out that her husband had died in 1943 when the Gestapo had tortured him to find out his wife’s whereabouts. He refused any cooperation to the point of death.
Wake ran for political office a few times in Australia, and remarried in the 1950s. She published her biography, The White Mouse, in 1988. That was the Gestapo’s nickname for her due to her talent for sneaking by them. Nancy Wake died August 7, 2011 at age 98.
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Senior Chatters
You are an amazing lady Tania…I never read this bio, but I have sat and closely listened to my German Grandfather, who was first a Police Comiss, then a camp detainee, about what a soft and innocent can do. I have seen the same in Nam and I am sure that those who served in Korean in the 50s know this. It is a misconception to believe that gender is a factor of combat ability.
Tom Cruise TopGun, but there were also several female Pilots who flew faster jets, had high kill ratios and yet not many know this…check US Navel Listing of Female fighter pilots one, code name ” Blackwidow “
There are lot’s of stories about women who fought in the war, Happysailor1,I will be posting more, but not so close together…Thank you for the info.
“Courage is found in unexpected places” they say. Why should that be the case when courage should be expected from anyone given the right circumstances.
I think most people would find courage in certain situations, Waylander, some maybe would not find courage to all things, but in their own field maybe. Thank you
I had been partially aware of Nacy Wake, but not so much detail. What a story. Thank You!
Thank you, Drummer.
of course another good one Tania, thank you
Thank you grandmaj …
What a incredible women…….we none of us know the bravery we posses until it comes to the crunch…….but this lady kept herself right out there achieving missions that needed to be done……no bailing out after the first one……its good to hear what part the females played during conflict…..
yes it is good to hear about the women, Star, and there were many of them….Thank you..