My sister sent me the obituary of a woman who was a genuine war hero, Nancy Wake. You need to read the obit to get a feel for all that she did, but here are two excerpts that tell of her spirit.
Nancy recalled later in life that her parachute had snagged in a tree. The French resistance fighter who freed her said he wished all trees bore "such beautiful fruit". Nancy retorted: "Don't give me that French shit."
...
Ms Wake's relationship with her adopted country was not always simple, however. Australia was one of the few allied countries which declined to decorate her after the war. Nancy refused later Australian honours on principle.
"I told the government they could stick their medals where the monkey puts it nuts," she said.
I do hope that a worthy movie is finally made about this amazing woman. She sounds like one for the ages.
4 November 2013
Addition: I just realized that she died in 2011. How did I miss this at the time? Here are her obits from The Washington Post and the New York Times.
