Nancy Wake, Special Agent, Saboteur, World War II’s Most Decorated Woman
a New Zealander brought up in Australia. She became a nurse, a journalist who interviewed Adolf Hitler, a wealthy French socialite, a British agent and a French resistance leader. She led 7,000 guerrilla fighters in battles against the Nazis in the northern Auvergne, just before the D-Day landings in 1944. On one occasion, she strangled an SS sentry with her bare hands. On another, she cycled 500 miles to replace lost codes. In June 1944, she led her fighters in an attack on the Gestapo headquarters at Montlucon in central France.
John Lichfield – Resistance heroine who led 7,000 men against the Nazis
Ms. Wake stands as an inspiration to step up and get the job done, regardless of the expectations of others. In her case, it extended far beyond the years she served, as noted in John Litchfield’s article, “Ms Wake was also furious the TV series suggested she had had a love affair with one of her fellow fighters. She was too busy killing Nazis for amorous entanglements, she said.”
She was too busy killing Nazis…
The Gestapo’s dubbed her The White Mouse as she continued to evade them, and by 1943 she topped their most-wanted list.
Yeah. The definition of badass.
The tributes from The Independent and The Economist and her Wikipedia entry are engrossing and well worth the few minutes it’ll take you to read them.
I have no doubt that her story will stick with you for years to come. I know it will stay with me.