1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,639 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. It is 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: now a tradition to do six Impossible Episodes a couple 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: of times a year. Uh, full of topics that, for 6 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: whatever reason, we can't cover on their own as a 7 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: standalone episode. Sometimes there's not quite enough information. Sometimes, uh 8 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: there's something about it that just doesn't lend itself to 9 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: the standalone treatment. Whatever, we are new for one of these. 10 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: So today we have a set of stories that are 11 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: all about frontline heroism. Most of them are also requests 12 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: from listeners, and so we are calling it six Impossible 13 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: Episodes Soldiers, Snipers and Spies. And first up is the 14 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: only one of these who was not a listener request, 15 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: at least not one that we can recall or know of. 16 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: But it came from a Mental philosos article called five 17 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: of the Fiercest one liners in History. Mil Lunca Savage 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: was born in Serbia on June and in nineteen twelve, 19 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: at the age of twenty four, she joined the Serbian Army. 20 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: There's a bit of discrepancy about how this came to 21 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: be whether she adopted her brother's name to enlist, or 22 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: whether she went with her brother in disguise and they 23 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: both enlisted together. But regardless, mid Lunka wound up in 24 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: the army under the name of her brother Milun. Savage 25 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: maintained this disguise and served in both the First and 26 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: Second Balkan Wars, and by the second she had earned 27 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: the rank of corporal in the Iron Regiment. But then 28 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirteen, she was wounded in the chest at 29 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: the Battle of Rigglemichka, and while treating this injury fields 30 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: Field surgeons discovered her disguise. It's like shades of Mulan. Yeah. 31 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: Women were not allowed in the Serbian Army in combat roles, 32 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: but Savage had already been serving honorably for quite some time, 33 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: so punishing her for it would have been awkward at best. 34 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: She was offered a transfer to the army's nursing division, 35 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: but Savage didn't want to be a nurse, and standing 36 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: at attention, she made it clear that all she wanted 37 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: to do was to serve her country in combat. The 38 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: commanding officer told her that he would consider her request. 39 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: He would give her an answer in the morning, and Savage, 40 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: still standing at attention, answered, I will wait. She stood 41 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: at attention for the next hour until being given permission 42 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: to go back to the infantry. From there, Savage served 43 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: for the entirety of World War One, and there's a 44 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: lot of incredibly dramatic stuff in terms of stories about 45 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: her valor in battle, but at this point it's a 46 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: little hard to establish what's factual and what's legendary. It 47 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 1: is clear though, that she fought bravely with multiple units 48 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: across more than one Allied military. By the end of 49 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: her service, she had earned Serbia's highest military honor, the 50 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: Order of Karajorty Star was awards. She also received Serbia's 51 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: Gold Medal for Valor, the French Legion of Honor grades 52 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: four and five, the French quadri Guerre, and multiple other 53 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: military honors from multiple other nations. She became the most 54 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: highly decorated woman in all of World War One. After 55 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: the war, France offered her a military pension, but instead 56 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: she went back to Belgrade, got married and had a daughter, 57 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: and adopted three other children. She was named a National 58 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: Hero of Serbia and established a small hospital, and for 59 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: this hospital work, she actually wound up in a concentration 60 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: camp for part of World War Two. She was eventually released, 61 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: and she lived until October of nineteen seventy three. In 62 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: the Serbian Armed Forces Military Club opened an exhibition called 63 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: Milunca Savage Heroine of the Great War. But even so, 64 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: there is not a whole lot of information available about 65 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: her in English. I wish there were. I found one 66 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: video that had all of these stories of battlefield daring do, 67 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: but I couldn't even figure out what the sources for 68 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: that video's stories were. Uh, But anyway, she seems amazing. 69 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: And now we have someone else who served in the 70 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: Serbian Army, also in World War One, but in this 71 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: case was not Serbian. Listeners Laura and Meg have both 72 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: asked for a podcast on Flora Sands, who after her marriage, 73 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: was Flora Sands Niche. She was born to an Irish 74 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: family on January eighteen seventy six near York, England, and 75 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: she was the youngest of eight children. She got what 76 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: was a standard education for her her social class. She 77 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: was educated by a governess and she trained to be 78 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 1: a secretary. She also learned first aid through the Ladies 79 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 1: Nursing Yeomanry. After the start of World War One, Sans 80 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: tried to volunteer with the British Armed Forces but was 81 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: turned down, so she volunteered with a Saint John ambulance 82 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: unit that had been mustered to work in Serbia, which 83 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: departed on August twelve, nineteen fourteen. After a difficult and 84 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: dangerous journey, the last leg of which took place aboard 85 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: a cattle transport that sailed through a huge thunderstorm, she 86 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: arrived in Serbia to find a telegram waiting for her, 87 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: informing her that her father had suddenly died. For the 88 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 1: next three months, Sands threw herself into exhausting, difficult work 89 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: as a nurse. The hospital where she was stationed with 90 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: short staffed and low on supplies, and their accommodations were 91 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: so limited that she and six other nurses had to 92 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: take turns sleeping on straw mattresses in a single room 93 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: with only one blanket shared among them. So she went 94 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: home not to argue for reassignment, but to raise funds 95 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 1: for desperately needed supplies for the Serbian troops. She spent 96 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,840 Speaker 1: six weeks doing this and raised two thousand pounds, then 97 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: made then made the trip back to Serbia. With a 98 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty tons of supplies. For a time, she 99 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: continued her work in hospitals, learning on the job and 100 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: performing everything from minor surgical procedures to administrative work, and 101 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: her work was important from the start, but it became 102 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: especially critical in February of nineteen fifteen, when a typhus 103 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: epidemic claimed as many as two hundred victims a day, 104 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: including hospital staff. It was so bad that by the 105 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: time it was over there were only one doctor and 106 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: orderly and some nurses left at Sands Hospital. San's returned 107 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: to England again for a time in nineteen fifteen, but 108 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: when the war escalated again in Serbia, she went back. 109 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: She intended to go back to the hospital where she 110 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: had been working previously, but once she arrived that proved 111 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: to be impossible. It was just too dangerous and there 112 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: wasn't any kind of unit or convoy going that direction 113 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: that she could travel with, so instead she began working 114 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: as a Red Cross ambulance driver alongside the Iron Regiment. 115 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: When Serbia was invaded in October nineteen fifteen, the Serbian 116 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: army was forced into a long retreat through Albania over 117 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 1: incredibly difficult terrain, and in desperately cold weather and SMS. 118 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: Service during this retreat was so dedicated that the unit's 119 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: commanding officer, Colonel Millich, allowed her to officially enlist, at 120 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: which point she took on a combat rule. And she 121 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: was at this time thirty nine years old. This seems 122 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: like a discrepancy between Meluca Savage's story and Flora sands 123 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: story in terms of how easy it was for them 124 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: to become actually enlisted in the military. I don't know 125 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: the reason for that, other than the fact that this 126 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: happened a few years later and the circumstances were a 127 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: lot more dire in terms of the laure But if 128 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: you have knowledge, feel free to drop us a note. 129 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: Regardless though, Sands spent the next six years with Serbian Army, 130 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: ultimately attaining the rank of captain. Initially, the other soldiers 131 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: in her unit called her our English woman, but eventually 132 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: they started addressing her with the same word that they 133 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: used for each other, what's translated to brother. Even when 134 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: Sands was at home on leave or recovering after being wounded, 135 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: which she was twice, she still tirelessly worked to support 136 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: the Serbian cause. She raised funds, she rallied support, she 137 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: gathered supplies. She wrote an autobiography titled An English Woman's 138 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: Sergeant in the Serbian Army, specifically to try to raise 139 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: Serbian support among the British, and when an injury prevented 140 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: her from returning to the front, she went back to 141 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: working at a hospital. Like men Luca Savage, she was 142 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: also awarded the Order of Carrajority's Star. Sam's married Yuri 143 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: Viliamus Niche on May fourteenth seven and they moved to Belgrade. 144 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: They both retired from the service, but she was really 145 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: not good at living the and the quiet life. She 146 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: tried her hand a lot of different projects before she 147 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: and her husband were called up for service again in 148 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: World War Two. They were soon captured by the Germans 149 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: and imprisoned, and they were eventually released all of her 150 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 1: husband died in ninety one. At that point she went 151 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: back to England, where she died on November of nineteen 152 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 1: fifty six. Before we get to two more stories, we'll 153 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: have a quick sponsor break. Our next story is from 154 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: World War two and it was requested by Jack Kate, Pavel, 155 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: Molly Amber and Shirley many many others. Uh Ludmila pablo 156 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: Chenko was born in Malaya Tserkov, Ukraine, not far from Kiev. 157 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:32,319 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixteen, in her youth, she joined the Volunteer 158 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: Society for the Assistance of Army Aircraft and Fleet. This 159 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: is an organization that combined patriotism, athletics, and some paramilitary training, 160 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: and in spite of the term volunteer, it was one 161 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: of those things where participation was basically expected of all youth, 162 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: and it was here that Pavlicchenko started learning to shoot. 163 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: She earned a certificate in marksmanship and a badge and 164 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: sharp shooting, and when she enrolled at Kiev University in 165 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty seven, she joined the track team also went 166 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: to a sniper's school to further develop her skill. When 167 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June twenty nine, Pavlochenko 168 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: decided to put her training to use and tried to 169 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,839 Speaker 1: join the army. She was at first turned down because 170 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: she was a woman, even after she showed them her 171 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: certificate and badge, and in what's become a running theme 172 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,559 Speaker 1: on this episode, she was encouraged to become a nurse instead. 173 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,439 Speaker 1: Pavlichenko persisted though, and she was finally accepted into the 174 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: Red Army's Chapayev Rifle Division after passing an impromptu test. 175 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: She was basically with a unit that was defending a 176 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: hill and someone pointed out two Romanians who were working 177 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: with the Germans and told her to shoot them, which 178 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 1: she did. Pavlochenko became an exceptionally skilled and feared military sniper. 179 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: In her first seventy five days of service, she had 180 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:00,080 Speaker 1: one hundred eighty seven confirmed kills. By the end of 181 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: her service that number had risen to three hundred nine 182 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 1: thirty six of those were German snipers, some in what 183 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: were effectively duels with the enemy. From her point of view, 184 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 1: especially when it came to the snipers, the work she 185 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 1: was doing was ultimately saving many other lives. Her reputation 186 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: really spread among the German military, which knew her by name. 187 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: They started playing announcements over loud speakers and places where 188 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: that they thought that she was trying to get her 189 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,959 Speaker 1: to defect. They were basically like, lad Milla, come over here, 190 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: we have chocolate. Over the course of her career, she 191 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: was wounded in combat four times, including being hit with 192 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: shrapnel in the face. She also became the face of 193 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,559 Speaker 1: some of the Red Army's propaganda. In addition to her 194 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:51,080 Speaker 1: skill as a marksman and sharpshooter, she was also very attractive, 195 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: and while trying to join the army in the first place, 196 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: people had commented on her well styled hair and beautifully 197 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: manicured nails, as well as making sex. This remarks about 198 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 1: whether she should even be in the army in the 199 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,560 Speaker 1: first place. Uh, and that line of questioning did not 200 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,559 Speaker 1: stop even after she had distinguished herself in the army. 201 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: In two, at the age of twenty five, Pavluchenko became 202 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: the first Soviet soldier to visit the White House as 203 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:17,959 Speaker 1: part of an effort to get the United States to 204 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 1: support Soviet war efforts on the European continent. It was 205 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,200 Speaker 1: during this tour that she became friends with the First Lady, 206 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 1: Eleanor Roosevelt. But the media coverage of this visit and 207 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: tour really focused relentlessly on her appearance and what she 208 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: was wearing, which often was literally her uniform. Reporters frequently 209 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: criticized it for not being very stylish or flattering to 210 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,959 Speaker 1: her figure. I know you're an amazing sharpshooter, but can 211 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: we talk about your outfit? That was really the subtext 212 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: a lot. She eventually stopped, She stopped playing nicely. She 213 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: was like, would you ask that of a man? Once pablished, 214 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: go return home. She was promoted to major, was named 215 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: Hero of the Soviet Union, and eventually was put on 216 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,200 Speaker 1: a postage stamp. When the war was over, she finished 217 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: her education and she became a historian. In nineteen fifty seven, 218 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 1: she reconnected with Eleanor Roosevelt and what was an emotional reunion, 219 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: which is covered beautifully in the Rejected Princess entry on her. 220 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 1: We will link to that in the show notes. For real. 221 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:29,559 Speaker 1: It does, especially this part of the story, a lot 222 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 1: of beautiful justice, far more than we did just now. 223 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 1: After three stories about people who were offered jobs in 224 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: nursing rather than combat, or went into combat after nursing, 225 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:41,839 Speaker 1: we wanted to make sure we also talked about someone 226 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: who was a nurse through and through, and that's Lieutenant 227 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: Colonel Vivian Bullwinkle, also known as bully h. This one 228 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: is a tear jerker, and the listener request we got 229 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: for it was actually about a massacre that she survived. 230 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 1: Vivian Bullwinkle was born in South Australia on December eighteenth 231 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: nineteen fifth team. She was trained as a nurse and 232 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,439 Speaker 1: midwife and was working at Jesse McPherson Hospital in Melbourne 233 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: at the start of World War Two. At that point 234 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,680 Speaker 1: she joined the Australian Army Nursing Service. She was assigned 235 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: to the thirteenth Australian General Hospital or thirteenth a g H, 236 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: although she also spent a few weeks with the tenth 237 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: a g H. She was ultimately stationed in what's now Malaysia. 238 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: In late nineteen forty one, Japanese forces started moving down 239 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: the Malay Peninsula, and at the start of nineteen forty two, 240 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: g H was forced to evacuate across the Straits of 241 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: Jehore to Singapore. Soon, Japanese forces moved on Singapore as well, 242 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: forcing a second retreat aboard the s S. Viner Brook 243 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 1: on February twelfth, nineteen forty two. Bullwinkle was among the 244 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: last group of nurses evacuated, along with a group of 245 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: women and children, as well as injured soldiers. On February thirteenth, 246 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: a Japanese bomber spotted the Viner Brook and attacked. The ship, 247 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: sank and some of the survivors came aboard on Banka 248 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 1: Island off the coast of Sumatra, where they gathered on 249 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: Raggi Beach. At first, their group was made up of 250 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: twenty two nurses, including Bullwinkle, along with some women and children, 251 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: and about a hundred British soldiers joined them on the 252 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: beach the following day. Eventually, the group decided that their 253 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 1: best course of action was to surrender to the Japanese. 254 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 1: The civilian women and children left to find someone to 255 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 1: whom they might surrender. The nurses and soldiers, including the 256 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: wounded men, stayed behind. But when the Japanese soldiers eventually 257 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: did arrive at the beach on February six, they did 258 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: not accept any surrender. They divided the soldiers into two groups, 259 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:43,640 Speaker 1: shot them and bayonetted the survivors. Then they directed the 260 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: nurses to march into the sea. As they did, their matron, 261 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: Irene Drummond, told them, chin up, girls, I'm proud of 262 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: you and I love you all. Then the Japanese soldiers 263 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: opened fire and they machine gunned them all to death. 264 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: From behind. Vivian Bowlwinkle shot and the abdomen played dead 265 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,640 Speaker 1: in the water until she washed ashore, which point the 266 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: Japanese soldiers had gone, she found a surviving soldier, Private Kingsley, 267 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: and the two of them hid in the jungle. Bowlwinkle 268 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: tended to both of their wounds and sneaked to a 269 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 1: nearby village to beg for food for them, putting her 270 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: life at risk every time she did. Soon, though, it 271 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: became clear that they could not survive long term in 272 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: this way, and she and Kingsley decided to once again 273 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: try to surrender, and this time they did successfully surrender, 274 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: although Kingsley died shortly afterward as a result of his injuries. 275 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: Bowlwinkle was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Sumatra, 276 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: where she was reunited with the survivors of the sinking 277 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: of the viner Brook, who had not come ashore at 278 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: that beach. She told them what had happened and how 279 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: she had survived, but from there they all kept its secret. 280 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: It was obvious that her life would be in serious 281 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,119 Speaker 1: danger if her captors learned that she had witnessed the 282 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,200 Speaker 1: Banka Island massacre. Bullwinkle and the other survivors of the 283 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,719 Speaker 1: winer Brook were all kept as prisoners of war for 284 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: more than three years, and that whole time Bullwinkle continued 285 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 1: her work as a nurse, keeping both herself and many 286 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: of her fellow POW's alive, and in ninety six, once 287 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: the war was over, Bulwinkle testified before the War Crimes 288 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,920 Speaker 1: Tribunal in Tokyo as to what had happened. She also 289 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,439 Speaker 1: contacted the families of the nurses that had been on 290 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: that beach with her to tell them about their loved 291 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: ones last moments and final words. She retired from the 292 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 1: army in nineteen seven and returned to civilian life as 293 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,360 Speaker 1: a nurse. She eventually became director of nursing at Melbourne's 294 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:46,919 Speaker 1: Fearfield Hospital, and she spent time raising funds for a 295 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: nursing memorial and a memorial to those who were killed 296 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: on Banka Island. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross 297 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,919 Speaker 1: for exceptional services, devotion to duty and professional competence in 298 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,280 Speaker 1: British military nursing. Her uniform, complete with a bullet hole, 299 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,400 Speaker 1: is part of the collection at the Australian War Memorial. 300 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy seven, she married, becoming Vivian bowl Winkle Stathum, 301 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,199 Speaker 1: and she died on July three, two thousand. We're going 302 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: to take one more quick break before we have two 303 00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: more stories. Our next request actually comes from author Mary 304 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,199 Speaker 1: robin at Coal. When we did our live show at 305 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,439 Speaker 1: C two E two in Seen, I stopped by her 306 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: booth to say hello because I love her books, and 307 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: she suggested that we look into it. And then she 308 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: followed up on the Jonathan Colden Cruise in which she 309 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,880 Speaker 1: was one of the entertainers on and I went on 310 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: vacation on. So we're hopping back to World War One 311 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: again for the first Russian Women's Battalion of Death. Individual 312 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:58,400 Speaker 1: women were involved in the Russian military, both officially and unofficially, 313 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: from the very beginning of Russian involvement in World War One, 314 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,960 Speaker 1: so many women had expressed an interest in serving that 315 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,119 Speaker 1: on June tenth of nineteen fifteen, an official policy was 316 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: handed down that women could join the army on a 317 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: case by case basis, as long as each case was 318 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: approved by Czar Nicholas the Second. All of that changed 319 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: following the February Revolution, which began in March nineteen seventeen 320 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: on the Gregorian calendar but in February on the Julian calendar. 321 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: The February Revolution was the product of both food shortages 322 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,680 Speaker 1: and Russia's involvement in World War One, which had been 323 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,119 Speaker 1: just devastating in terms of both the Russian economy and 324 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:40,239 Speaker 1: the cost of human life. The February Revolution began with 325 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: food riots and strikes, and ultimately ended with the forced 326 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,959 Speaker 1: advocation of the Czar, who would later be executed. The 327 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: provisional government that followed the end of the Czarist rule 328 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,720 Speaker 1: granted women a number of rights, including the right to 329 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: vote and to serve on juries. The provisional government was 330 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,440 Speaker 1: also far more open to the idea women in military service, 331 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,879 Speaker 1: especially given a dire need for new recruits and the 332 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: fact that the revolution itself had really disrupted the Russian military. 333 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: The first Russian women's Battalion of Death was the work 334 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: of Maria Botchkareva, also known by the nickname Yashka. She 335 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: was one of the many women who had individually petitioned 336 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,159 Speaker 1: to join the Russian army in nineteen fifteen and had 337 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,920 Speaker 1: ultimately been allowed to join. She had already been wounded 338 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: and recovered twice and had been awarded the Saint George's 339 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: Cross for valor when the February Revolution began. About two 340 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: months after the February Revolution, she conceived of forming a 341 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: unit of about three hundred women who would quote serve 342 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: as an example to the army and lead the men 343 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:48,719 Speaker 1: into battle. These women would be highly trained and extraordinarily disciplined, 344 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: and they would follow the same protocol as other Russian 345 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: Battalions of Death, which was a formal designation within the military. 346 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 1: These all volunteer battalions swore to fight to the death 347 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: and marked with special red and black chevrons on their 348 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: sleeves and skulls and crossbones on their banners. Boshkareva began 349 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: recruiting on May twenty one, nineteen seventeen, and she got 350 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:17,199 Speaker 1: two thousand responses. Almost immediately following her example, other women 351 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 1: began seeking approval to recruit for additional women's units all 352 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: around Russia. The First Russian Women's Battalion of Death ultimately 353 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: had three hundred members, but at least four thousand women 354 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: joined the Russian military and other women's units in World 355 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: War One. On June twenty one, in uniform and with 356 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 1: close cropped hair, the newly formed First Russian Women's Battalion 357 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,359 Speaker 1: of Death marched through Petrograd in front of a cheering crowd, 358 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:46,720 Speaker 1: where they were given gifts from the First and Third 359 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: Russian Armies. As well as a banner from the Minister 360 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 1: of War. Part of their route was to the graves 361 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: of protesters who had been killed during the February Revolution. 362 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,360 Speaker 1: At this point, the First Russian Women's Battalion of Death 363 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: seems like it's on track for a similar story arc 364 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 1: to World War Two's Night which is uh The Night 365 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: Whiches were founded, along with two other all female regiments 366 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 1: by Marina Riskova. The Night Whiches went on to become 367 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,440 Speaker 1: a household names in the Soviet Union, and they spent 368 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: most of World War Two harassing and terrifying the German Army. 369 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: We have an episode about them in the archive, but 370 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,479 Speaker 1: that wasn't the case. When the First Women's Battalion of 371 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: Death arrived at the Western Front, they faced derision and 372 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: harassment for the men in the Tenth Army that we're 373 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: already stationed there. The Women's Battalion was part of the 374 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: Kerensky Offensive, and they did exactly what they'd intended to do. 375 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: They charged into the fray, essentially shaming reluctant male soldiers 376 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 1: into following. They also reportedly found and destroyed a large 377 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: stash of vodka in the Austro German trenches. Before the 378 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: other Russian soldiers could get to it. That influence, which 379 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: was part of the point from the beginning, didn't last though. 380 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,480 Speaker 1: The Kerensky offensive was ultimately unsuccessful, and as the tied 381 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,800 Speaker 1: turn against the Russian army. The Women's Battalion of Death 382 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 1: wanted to keep fighting, as had been their mission from 383 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: the beginning, but their determination really started to inspire resentment 384 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 1: instead of valor from the male soldiers already there By 385 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: July three, the offensive had dissolved completely, and Botkareva herself 386 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,399 Speaker 1: was attacked and beaten by a mob that demanded that 387 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: the women stopped fighting. Not long after, General Laver Kornilov 388 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 1: replaced General Brusilov, and a second set of demonstrations, known 389 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 1: as the July Days rose up in Petrograd. Many of 390 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: the July Days demonstrators were soldiers, and Kornilov deployed the 391 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 1: military to try to suppress the uprising. Because Botchkareva knew Kornilov, 392 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,439 Speaker 1: she and the rest of her battalion suffered guilt by association, 393 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,880 Speaker 1: and they were branded as counter revolutionaries. They faced so 394 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: much violent hostility from the rest of the force that 395 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: they were moved out of combat Kornilov, who had not 396 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:02,679 Speaker 1: shown brusselav approval of women's battalions in the first place, 397 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 1: then stopped accepting new female recruits and started the process 398 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: of dissolving the women's battalions. By this point, Russia was 399 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,159 Speaker 1: facing catastrophic economic and human losses from the war and 400 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: an uprising from within in the form of the Russian Revolution. 401 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: When demobilization of the military began on November tenth, nineteen seventeen, 402 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: there was almost nothing in the way of support for 403 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: returning soldiers. Records from this period are so spotty that 404 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: the ultimate fate of most of the First Women's Battalion 405 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: of Death is unknown. Regardless, what had initially seemed like 406 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: a bold attempt to democratize and bring gender equality to 407 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:45,639 Speaker 1: Russia's military ultimately fell apart. Box Creva herself traveled to 408 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 1: the United States in nineteen eighteen and dictated a memoir. 409 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: While she was there, she also met with President Woodrow Wilson, 410 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: where she pleaded for American assistance in Russia. She later 411 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: went to London, where she did the same thing. Before 412 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: George the Fifth she was a apparently invited to join 413 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:04,240 Speaker 1: the White Army during the Russian Civil war, and this 414 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,640 Speaker 1: led to her being captured by the Bolsheviks and executed 415 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: by firing squad on May sixteenth, nineteen twenty. Now we 416 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,239 Speaker 1: were going on to our last story, which we are 417 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,399 Speaker 1: going to end with a spy. Which does a spy? 418 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: Lots of folks have asked for but most of the 419 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,719 Speaker 1: requests came by a people sharing her obituary to our 420 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:25,959 Speaker 1: Facebook wall or tweeting us a link to it, so 421 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,520 Speaker 1: we don't have a list of names. Is much easier 422 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,920 Speaker 1: for us to find episode requests in our email than 423 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 1: on our social media most of the time. Stephanie Check 424 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 1: Raider was born Stephanie Check on May sixteenth, nineteen fifteen. 425 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: She grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her parents had 426 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,400 Speaker 1: immigrated from Poland and they didn't speak much English, so 427 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,359 Speaker 1: she learned Polish at home and actually didn't begin to 428 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: learn English until she started school, but she eventually became 429 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,199 Speaker 1: fluent in both languages. In high school, one of her 430 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: teachers submitted an application to Cornell University on her behalf, 431 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,280 Speaker 1: and she was a war did a full scholarship to 432 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: go there. She graduated with a master's degree in chemistry 433 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,199 Speaker 1: in ninety seven and She later got a job as 434 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,920 Speaker 1: a translator. When the United States entered World War Two, 435 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: she joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, but within a 436 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:16,439 Speaker 1: couple of years she had caught the attention of the 437 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: Office of Strategic Services, or the OSS. This was an 438 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,679 Speaker 1: intelligence office and a precursor to the CIA. In she 439 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: was stationed in Poland, ostensibly to work as a clerk 440 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 1: in the U. S. Embassy, but in reality she was 441 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,880 Speaker 1: a spy. She did most of her work in plain 442 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: clothes and unarmed. She would later say, quote, they gave 443 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,680 Speaker 1: me a gun, but I never carried a gun. What 444 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 1: the heck was I going to do with a dumb gun. 445 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: Under the pretense of finding members of her family, she 446 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: traveled extensively away from Warsaw alone, gathering huge amounts of 447 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: information about Soviet troop movements and social conditions, and passing 448 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: all of that information back to the OSS. She also 449 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,399 Speaker 1: started to work as a courier carrying secret information, and 450 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,959 Speaker 1: this was a particularly risky assignment, since if she were caught, 451 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 1: she would probably just disappear. Some of her male colleagues, 452 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: in fact, were caught and just disappeared. During this period, 453 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:24,399 Speaker 1: she was very nearly apprehended. On January fifteenth, nineteen forty six, 454 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 1: she was leaving the embassy in Berlin and she was 455 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,280 Speaker 1: given a set of documents to take with her back 456 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: to Warsaw. She really didn't want to do this because 457 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: she had been under an increasing level of scrutiny. She 458 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,440 Speaker 1: suspected that authorities were going to try to take any 459 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: opportunity to arrest her. Some of her colleagues at the OSS, 460 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: as we said, had simply vanished at this point during 461 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 1: their service in Poland. As she approached a border checkpoint, 462 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,680 Speaker 1: she realized that Soviet police were there waiting to arrest her, 463 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: so she took a really risky move of passing the 464 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: documents off to a civilian with instructions on here to 465 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: deliver them, so she did not have those documents on 466 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 1: her when she was questioned. While she was still serving 467 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: in Poland, her cover was actually blown by the careless 468 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: behavior of a superior officer who was stationed in Paris. 469 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:15,879 Speaker 1: Even though her cover was blown, she insisted on staying 470 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 1: in Poland, even though she was at much greater risk 471 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: until she had finished her assignment. Finally, back in the 472 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:25,640 Speaker 1: United States, she married Brigadier General William Rader and eventually 473 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: retired from the Army. She attained the rank of captain, 474 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,480 Speaker 1: and the U. S Department of Veterans Affairs has called 475 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,639 Speaker 1: her one of the most successful intelligence agents of post 476 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 1: World War two Poland. She died on January one, at 477 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: the age of one hundred, and she was buried at 478 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:45,680 Speaker 1: Arlington National Cemetery. She was posthumously awarded the Leading of 479 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: Merit in sixteen as well. That was something she had 480 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: been recommended for all the way back in nineteen forty 481 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: six and denied, possibly because at the time there were 482 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,960 Speaker 1: so few women working as covert agents for the United States, 483 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 1: and those are soldiers, snipers, and spies. For our six 484 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 1: Impossible episodes today, what's up with listener mail? Tracy? I 485 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:12,920 Speaker 1: have some listener mail from Jenny. It is called Kentucky 486 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,560 Speaker 1: Colonels and it is following our episode about the Kentucky Derby. 487 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: I am going to stick up some particularly fond introduction 488 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,840 Speaker 1: because she's so kind. It feels a little self congratulatory 489 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,920 Speaker 1: to read it. Uh, And then continues I just finished 490 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: the episode on the Kentucky Derby and had to write 491 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,160 Speaker 1: in you giggled when you mentioned that habit of the 492 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: state of Kentucky to call people colonels when they held 493 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: no actual military role. This reaction is shared by much 494 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 1: of the world outside of Kentucky, and it's one that 495 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: I found myself laughing at two when I first heard 496 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: about it. Being born and raised in New Hampshire, I 497 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 1: often felt like I'd moved to another planet when I 498 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky to teach. Once there, I 499 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,600 Speaker 1: learned more about this proud tradition from students and colleagues 500 00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 1: and thought i'd share a bit with you. The title 501 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,720 Speaker 1: of colonel can be the stowed upon anyone in recognition 502 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: of their accomplishments or works serving their community, state, nation, 503 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 1: or the world. New colonels are nominated by active colonels 504 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,120 Speaker 1: and can be national heroes like astronaut John Glenn, writers 505 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: like Hunters Thompson and Duncan Hines, artists and entertainers like 506 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 1: Ansel Adams, Johnny Depp, Ashley Judd and Betty White. I'm 507 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 1: just gonna pause for a second and say I love 508 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 1: that Betty White is a Kentucky colonel. To return to 509 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:32,959 Speaker 1: the letter, athletes like Mohammed Ali and Arthur Ashe, world leaders, 510 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: and foreign royalty like Winston Churchill or Princess Anne, and 511 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 1: of course businessmen like KFC's own Colonel Sanders. They can 512 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,120 Speaker 1: also be private citizens from all works of life, working 513 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: to better the lives of people of Kentucky. The title 514 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: is bestowed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky 515 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: by issuing letters patent and has been around since the 516 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 1: American Revolution. They even have their own tastes written in 517 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,520 Speaker 1: ninety six that I thought you'd both love. Our show 518 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 1: has run a little long today, so I'm not gonna 519 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: read this entire toast, but we are going to put 520 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: it in the show notes, so you can go to 521 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: our website and read it. Uh. And then uh, Jenny 522 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: says that a dear friend of hers became a Kentucky 523 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: colonel um, which is a lovely story. So thank you 524 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,200 Speaker 1: so much for for all of that information, Jenny, that 525 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,880 Speaker 1: is indeed lovely. Thank you for not being one of 526 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 1: the folks who assumed we had literally never heard of 527 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:29,400 Speaker 1: Colonel Sanders. We got a number of emails assuming we 528 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 1: had never heard of Colonel Sanders. But uh, we don't 529 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:40,480 Speaker 1: live under rocks, so I do. I'm like Patrick the Starfish. 530 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 1: But we've definitely heard of Colonel Standards. UM, so you 531 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:48,320 Speaker 1: would like to write to us about this or any 532 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 1: other podcast or a history podcasts how stuffworks dot com. 533 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: We're also on Facebook at Facebook dot com, on slash 534 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: miss in History and on Twitter at miss in History. 535 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:58,960 Speaker 1: Are tumbler is missing history dot tumbler dot com, and 536 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 1: we're on Pinterest and Instagram both at missed in History. 537 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 1: You can come to our parent companies website, which is 538 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com to find information about just 539 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: about anything your heart desires. And you can come to 540 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 1: our website, which is missed in History dot com, where 541 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:14,000 Speaker 1: you can find show notes, including where we will put 542 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: that toast for the Kentucky Kernels, archive of every single 543 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: episode we've ever done, other cool stuff. So you can 544 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: do all that and a whole lot more at how 545 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com or business history dot com. For 546 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics, is it 547 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:44,920 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com