The White Mouse

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

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Legendary heroine of the second world war Nancy Wake died recently, she was the most decorated servicewoman of the French Resistance.  A New Zealander by birth, she grew up in Australia and confounded the Gestapo by repeatedly escaping their dragnets which earned her the spy moniker of "white mouse."

http://news.yahoo.com/great-australian-wwii-heroine-dies-98-london-070650857.html

She never felt fear and suffered one regret, that she didn't kill more Nazis.  She described a trip to Austria in 1933 as her first-hand look at Nazi cruelty when she saw Jews strapped to a wheel while being whipped by storm troopers - she was photographed while exiting Vienna -she referred to that trip as her Hitler experience. 

Wake and her wealthy industrialist husband, Henry Fiocca witnessed the shadow of fascism as it covered Europe and joined the Resistance in its early days after the French surrender of 1940.  Having been trained in espionage by British Intelligence, she was part of an effort that armed and led 7000 resistance fighters who weakened German positions and within three years had a bounty of 5million francs on her head courtesy of German enmity. 

Wake was shot at and briefly imprisoned during the war.  She distributed money, weapons and code books while defying capture becoming known as "la Souris Blanche" or white mouse.  An ice cool lady, she defied the Gestapo who were looking for an agressive, armed male character similar to themselves.  She said after the war that a woman had more chances to get around because the Nazis killed men very easily and for little reason.  Wake and Fiocca helped Allied servicemen and Jewish refugees escape to Spain until he convinced her in 1943 to flee to England.

After the network's betrayal in 1943 and her escape to Britain, she signed on with the Special Operations Executive and parachuted back into enemy territory in April 1944 before D-Day and began distributing weapons to Resistance fighters.  Later that year she joined a battle of 7,000 French Liberation fighters against 22,000 SS troops - a crowning effort that saw 1400 German losses compared to 100 French fighters despite being outnumbered - an SS sentry was killed by her bare hands when he almost raised an alarm, she neutralized another by drawing a finger across her throat.

On another occasion after secret codes had been compromised threatening supply drops she cycled 300 miles in 72 hours crossing German checkpoints in search of an operator to radio Britain for new codes.

Her comrade described her, "the most feminine woman I know, until the fighting starts.  Then, she is like five men."

She never saw Fiocca again and learned after the liberation of France that he was killed by the Gestapo in 1943.  She married RAF officer John Forward in 1957.

She was honoured 12 times by Britain (George Medal), Australia (Order of Australia), France (Legion d'Honneur), New Zealand and the United States (Medal of Freedom).

What can I say?  She is a wonder, a superwoman, a true human being being the best arbiter of each moment.  She is simply great and never to be forgotten.

R.I.P.