Draft:Virginia Hall: One-Legged Spy

Virginia Hall was an extremely strong and brave woman from the 1900’s. She was intelligent, being able to speak several languages and graduating from top U.S. schools. In the 1930’s, she went to Europe for travel and further study and ended up with a job for the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. She was then sent to Izmir, Turkey for a work assignment. Unfortunately, after a hunting incident, she lost her left leg below the knee and had to be fit for a prosthetic. She even gave her new leg a nickname: “Cuthbert”. Having always wanted to work in the Foreign service, Hall applied after her accident, but was told that only “able-bodied” should be applying. Even though it was hard for her to hear, she stood firm on her wishes to serve. In 1941, she was accepted by the British Special Operations Executive, and she became a spy for them. In the time span of 1941-1942, Hall would organize spy networks, run safe houses, and deliver information to the British government. She would do all of this work in spite of being chased by German secret police: the Gestapo. They referred to Hall as "The Limping Lady." As World War II raged on, Hall mainly worked alone as a wireless operator. This was a job filled with danger, but she disguised herself as an old peasant woman and even filed down her teeth to be more convincing. In 1942, she was forced to leave her position when Nazis got too close to her. She had to endure a three-day journey in heavy snowfall over the Pyrenees mountains on foot. Hall was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1945 for all of her incredible wartime feats. Even after World War II, she continued to work for the CIA and then, in 1966, Hall would retire at the age of 60.