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She could kill Nazis with her bare hands: Nancy 'the White Mouse' Wake has died
news,com.au ^ | 8th August 2011

Posted on 08/07/2011 6:19:44 PM PDT by naturalman1975

AFTER witnessing Hitler's early atrocities, Nancy Wake vowed to fight him any way she could.

She fought so well, she ended up on top of the Gestapo's wanted list, saved thousands of Allied lives, played a crucial role in D-Day and received France's highest military honour.

"Nobody can beat you Nancy, nobody," Sonya d'Artois told her old Resistance comrade when Wake was awarded Australia's highest civilian honour in 2004, six decades after the French recognised her.

She was resourceful, cunning, feisty, brave and tough, once killing a German sentry with her bare hands.

"She is the most feminine woman I know until the fighting starts. Then, she is like five men," one French colleague said of her. But, at the age of 98, Wake was finally beaten.

.....

Wake was awarded France's highest honour, the Legion d'Honneur, as well as three Croix de Guerre and a French Resistance Medal, Britain's George Medal and the US Medal of Freedom.

When she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia at a ceremony in London in March, 2004, d'Artois flew in from Canada especially for the event and was joined by other former Special Operations Executive (SOE) spies and servicemen, including Air Chief Marshall Sir Lewis Hodges who was saved by Wake after being shot down over occupied France.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: frenchresistance; whitemouse; ww2; wwii
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To: naturalman1975

Thank you for sharing this!


21 posted on 08/07/2011 6:54:53 PM PDT by freemama
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To: naturalman1975

Au revior. Don’t let the door hit on the way out.


22 posted on 08/07/2011 6:56:23 PM PDT by Celtic Cross (The brain is the weapon; everything else is just accessories. --FReeper Joe Brower)
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To: conservativguy99; justiceseeker93; freekitty; unkus; flat; gonzo; Kathy in Alaska; Howie66; ...

PING


23 posted on 08/07/2011 6:57:17 PM PDT by ExTexasRedhead
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To: ExTexasRedhead

She was quite a woman.


24 posted on 08/07/2011 7:00:38 PM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: naturalman1975

Thanks for posting that. I had never heard of her before. She was quite a character, judging from the information in the article.


25 posted on 08/07/2011 7:02:29 PM PDT by Rocky (REPEAL IT!)
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To: naturalman1975

Did she have any children? If so, I may have met some of them in Afghanistan.


26 posted on 08/07/2011 7:03:24 PM PDT by Grizzled Bear ("Does not play well with others.")
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To: Celtic Cross
It's clear you are not an amateur idiot. It's always great to meet a professional, like you.
27 posted on 08/07/2011 7:07:40 PM PDT by Grizzled Bear ("Does not play well with others.")
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To: naturalman1975

RIP. Now that is a life well-lived.


28 posted on 08/07/2011 7:07:41 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: naturalman1975

What a gal!!!


29 posted on 08/07/2011 7:07:46 PM PDT by Ronin (Obamanation has replaced Bizarroworld as the most twisted place in the universe.)
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To: naturalman1975

The most remarkable part of her story is that she was able to live in a British hospital for the last decade.


30 posted on 08/07/2011 7:09:42 PM PDT by chopperman
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To: naturalman1975

Read it, posted it to my FB page. What an INSPIRATION, and I’ve never heard of her. God BLESS her!


31 posted on 08/07/2011 7:14:14 PM PDT by Mama Shawna
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To: Grizzled Bear

Uh, thanks?


32 posted on 08/07/2011 7:16:35 PM PDT by Celtic Cross (The brain is the weapon; everything else is just accessories. --FReeper Joe Brower)
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To: SamAdams76

Said she died of a simple infection. I guess if you’re that tough, there’s not a lot else that can kill you.


33 posted on 08/07/2011 7:16:59 PM PDT by Strk321
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To: Stonewall Jackson

plmk


34 posted on 08/07/2011 7:17:41 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: naturalman1975
But, at the age of 98, Wake was finally beaten

I couldn't disagree more. Hers was a life well lived.

Look, we all will die, but not all of us will truly live.

35 posted on 08/07/2011 7:19:22 PM PDT by stormhill
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To: naturalman1975

Death, where is your victory? Grave, where is your sting?


36 posted on 08/07/2011 7:24:07 PM PDT by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?)...R.I.P.)
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To: naturalman1975

Thanks for posting, I had never heard of her. RIP


37 posted on 08/07/2011 7:28:05 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: Celtic Cross; Grizzled Bear
Bear, I read it the same way you did. But I had a look at Celtic Cross' webpage and decided it was unlikely it was meant the way both of us read it.

Celtic Cross, in case you don't know (and I hope you don't), "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" or its variants is actually a common phrase used to indicate that you're not sorry to see somebody leave - it's a way of telling them to get lost, really. I do hope that isn't what you intended, but it is how I read it to begin with, and I think how Bear did as well.

This explains that useage - it may be more common some places than others.

38 posted on 08/07/2011 7:31:59 PM PDT by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: chopperman

Health care especially paid for by the Australian government in a private hospital.

People in Britain do have the right not to use the NHS, and to have health insurance, and to pay for private health care if they want to. Those horror stories you hear of from Britain are of people who didn’t make that choice. And to be fair, a lot of the time the NHS does work properly. It’s just ‘a lot of the time’ isn’t good enough when it comes to your health.


39 posted on 08/07/2011 7:37:15 PM PDT by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: naturalman1975; All

Video documentary about Nancy Wake’s wartime experience is on youtube, narrated by her. Parts 1-6, about 50 min. total.

I enjoyed it.

Nancy Wake- Codename ‘The White Mouse’(1987) Part 1 of 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36PtQ3TxZJI


40 posted on 08/07/2011 7:45:01 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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