Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library

Trained to be an OSS spy, Helias Doundoulakis, with Gabriella Gafni

eng

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non fiction

Trained to be an OSS spy

dictionaries

Helias Doundoulakis, with Gabriella Gafni

On an ordinary day in May 1941, a boy from a village in Crete faces an unexpected threat - the invasion of German troops. He runs for cover - his first escape in a series of encounters with destiny. The boy and his brother work for the SOE, an underground branch of the English Intelligence Service. When the resistance movement is uncovered, they escape through the mountains of Crete, hiding from the enemy in broad daylight. In Egypt, the boy joins the American Army and trains to be a spy for the OSS (the Office of Strategic Services), the SOE's newly formed American intelligence counterpart. Sent back to Salonica, Greece, the boy continually risks his life, operating a wireless radio in plain view. Will the German police ever discover his wireless, in a factory once owned by Greek Jews? If captured, the boy resolves to take a poison capsule that will end his young life, rather than endure torture. Often, he finds himself seconds away from death. Imagine the Victory of living to tell the tale at age 91, and his metamorphosis from boy to man, man to soldier, and soldier to spy. The author's story was featured in the documentary Camp X: Secret Agent School on History Channel in Canada, and the Smithsonian Channel's, World War II Spy School

adult