LES ÉTOILES DANS LES YEUX: How a Woman of No Importance Never Gave Up on Freedom

 In 1942, the Gestapo put forth an urgent transmission through their ranks: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her." 

 The "dangerous woman" they were hunting was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who had managed to talk her way into Special Operations Executive, or SOE; Winston Churchill's own spy organization dubbed the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." Virginia, who operated under a slew of code names, including Marie Monin, Diane (after the Roman goddess of the hunt), and finally, "La Madone" served in two mission tours and eventually led an army of Maquis in the Plateau over Chambon Sur Lignon affectionately named "Diane's Irregulars."  Virginia Hall is a legend on that Haute-Loire plateau even to this day.

But Virginia was more than just a female spy with a "very particular set of skills." 

She was the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines,

and despite her prosthetic leg, helped to light and fan the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it. Her pioneering work setting up circuits in France inspires much that goes on even today in the Special Forces. The CIA acknowledged that the Jawbreaker team it sent into Afghanistan before and after 9/11 in 2001 was a direct descendant of her secret operations with the French Resistance in WWII. 

Valor truly does come in many forms, but it rarely reaps the dividends that it should. Maybe that is part of its very definition--that quality that makes it so noble. So often, men and women of valor are the most humble and unassuming of them all. Still, as I read Virginia's story, I was shocked and angered by the discrimination she faced, even after her incredible almost superhuman accomplishments in France. Although she earned the distinction of being one of the first female agents in the CIA, newly formed after the war, Virginia was still routinely looked over, passed over, and underestimated. She, herself, even had more combat experience than the first three directors of the CIA. And yet, despite her notable successes and savvy in the field, Virginia was sidelined--shunted into the backwater accounts--probably because she had so much experience, that she overshadowed her jealous male colleagues who felt threatened by her. One of her fellow agents and supporters angrily observed that "her experience and abilities were never properly utilized, never mind recognized." 

Virginia Hall had initially set her sights on becoming a diplomat in the 1930s, but her own country repeatedly turned her down before she reached out to SOE and became the legendary "limping lady" that the Nazis viciously hunted for almost four years, but never managed to catch. President Roosevelt, himself, ironically (and hypocritically) snubbed her for advancement because of her handicap--her prosthetic leg--which was later to receive its own code name in the field: "Cuthbert." But, as so often happens as society has time to reflect, a new curiosity was triggered after her death in 1982.  The Washington Post described Virginia as a "Baltimore schoolgirl who became a hero of the French Resistance, while The New York Times called her "one of the most effective and reliable agents of the Second World War."

But, according to Virginia's biographer, Sonia Purnell, what the Times and others could not say--and could not have known--was "just how a woman of no hope, no prospects,

and apparently, no importance had risen to such heights; how, in concealing her identity from others, she had at last found who she really was and what she really could do. Furthermore, how, in fighting for the liberty of another nation, she found freedom for herself" (Purnell, 308). 

While her own country may have not dedicated any time to pomp and circumstance to honor her legacy at the time of her death, four thousand miles away in France, "Diane's' Irregulars" convened to share their devastation at the news and marvel on her great legacy. Indeed, "the warrior they called La Madone had shown them hope, comradeship, courage, and the way to be the best version of themselves," (308) and that would never be forgotten. When they talked of, shared, and remembered her with awe and affection for her incredible exploits, they smiled and looked up at the wide, open skies with "les étoiles dans les yeux." 

Despite all the adversity, discrimination, and lack of gratitude and appreciation Virginia Hall ultimately faced, fought, and encountered, she remains a beacon of light to those who served with and alongside her. Since I have read her story, she has become that inspiration to me, as well: the "woman in khaki who never, ever gave up on freedom." Those who know me best understand that is a fire in my heart, as well. 

I realize that in these strange and challenging times and, indeed, at this time of year, we are all busy and fighting for the time to just complete a thought, much less read a book for pure enjoyment or personal growth. But, still, I encourage you as your English teacher and fellow sufferer of the high expectations of the IB Diploma Program, to carve out some time to read or listen to the biographies of those who conquered adversity--who, against all odds, found a way to be a light for others. Theirs are so often tales of thanklessness, lacking the glory they may richly deserve, but I would argue this is so much a part of their appeal. It is what makes them true and dauntless heroes in a world so desperate for them.

What are some things you face now that you feel stand in your way of achieving your dreams? What shadows of doubt are cast over you that may, at times, make you see yourself as a person of "no hope, no prospects, and/or no importance?" How can you, like Virginia Hall, find a way to climb over and past them? I feel like if she were here with us now, she would tell you, "Never give up. Limp, if you have to, but keep moving ever forward." When the Nazis closed in on her during her first mission to France, and she needed to find escape at the very last minute, Virgnia had to cross the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain, hiking a distance of 35 miles, up 9,000 feet in altitude in November snow that was often three feet deep. She did this with a prosthetic leg. When she finally made her way down into freedom on the other side, her stump was bloodied and blistered and "Cuthbert" was badly damaged and in need of extensive repairs. But you know what? She made it. Freedom was her cause. It was her fire. It was her passion. It was the driving force inside her spirit that kept her going "in spite of" and "no matter what." It would seem that neither the Nazis nor Nature, herself, were any match for this woman of no importance -- this woman determined to succeed. 

 In your comment below, feel free to name and call out your fears and stumbling blocks. Then, describe how you have or will face and conquer them to achieve the passion of your heart. Perhaps, like Virginia, you will inspire others in some way to do the same, with "les étoiles dans les yeux." 

 Always. 

PS: Currently, there is a film out that in part details Virginia Hall's story.  It is FANTASTIC!  It is called A Call to Spy.  Here is the link to watch the trailer: A Call to Spy Trailer 

Currently, a film called A Woman of No Importance is in filming, featuring Daisy Ridley in the role of Virginia Hall. Keep your eyes out!  Here is a link to more information: A Woman of No Importance film