Virginia Hall Blog
Virginia Hall: Honoring Women’s History Month
A Thought for Women's History Month It's sad that we have to have a "special" Women's History Month to honor women's accomplishments, but their contributions--like those of other marginalized citizens-- have been ignored, neglected, and down-played for centuries. When...
A Call to Spy-East Bay Film Festival Interview
Of course, I said, "Yes!" when Sarah Megan Thomas asked me to serve as a guest host and join her and actor Samuel Rukin to discuss "A Call to Spy" at the East Bay Jewish Film Festival. I told the audience about my research on Virginia Hall, America's greatest spy of...
A Call to Spy–Movie Review by Craig Gralley
A CIA psychiatrist told me in a recent interview that movies can help you build resilience to adversity. “Movie-goers see hardships and heroism, and think, ‘Maybe I can be brave, too.’” In other words, seeing “A Call to Spy,” could be good for you. “A Call to Spy,” is...
A Woman of No Importance—Reviewed by Craig Gralley
A Woman of No Importance—The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II Sonia Purnell (Viking, 2019), 368 pp. Reviewed by Craig Gralley Sonia Purnell’s biography of Office of Special Operations (OSS) and CIA clandestine officer Virginia Hall, A Woman...
Virginia Hall’s Story Lives On . . .
Virginia Hall’s life captures the imagination and has meaning for us today. She used the hard knocks of life as a platform for reaching higher.
Virginia Hall’s Escape Over the Pyrenees
Virginia Hall escaped the Gestapo by climbing over the Pyrenees mountains in the dead of winter. This post includes photographs of Hall’s Freedom Trail.
Heroic Woman Spy, Virginia Hall, Goes Deep Underground
When the US enters WWII, heroic woman spy Virginia Hall must go underground to escape the Gestapo.
Member of the British Empire: Virginia Hall’s “Gold Watch”?
The British awarded Virginia Hall the MBE for her espionage behind the lines in France but refused her return, calling it a suicide mission. But Virginia did return.
Virginia Hall– Life in Spanish Prison
Virginia Hall was thrown into Spanish prison for crossing the border illegally. But she had secret information for London and had a Spanish prostitute smuggle it out. After being released, Virginia demanded to return to France.
Virginia Hall’s Pyrenees Trek: Fear, Exhaustion, and Capture
After an exhausting three-day trek across the snow-capped Pyrenees, Virginia’s arrived exhausted but too early to the train station in Spain and was arrested for illegally crossing the border.