"J" and Some New History

"J" will be known to a few of you, but to others, she will be a stranger. This piece will be better understood if one reviews the blogs of 24 November 2011 and 13 April 2006. Regardless of this, new information on "J" has come to light that makes for a fascinating addition to her story.

I already knew that "J" had a serious French boy friend who went to fight in WW II. Apparently, he was not favored by her father as a future match for her. He did well in the military. However, after he returned at the war's end, "J" had become seriously enamored with a U. S. serviceman. He was an American who had been born in Italy and educated in Switzerland, New Hampshire, and at Princeton. He was a Lt. in the Marine Corps who was assigned to the OSS (future CIA) in Paris. "J"'s father had made his acquaintance and liked him. He is said to have been quite handsome, and "J" fell head over heels in love with him after her father introduced them. He was a "J" also and was the reason she was in the jeep accident on the way to Germany mentioned in the first blog. Why the romance never came to anything is not known, but I plan to ask her one of these days.

Lt. "J" was in the Allied invasion at Omaha Beach, was of significant help in liberating the Crillon Hotel, as the Germans were leaving Paris, earned a Silver and Bronze Star, was awarded the Croix de Guerre, and became a staff officer in the OSS. He spent his years after the war in Rome, Kinshasa, Zaire, Rio de Janeiro, and Vienna with the U. S. Diplomatic Service. He worked later in Paris as a journalist and finally retired to Florida. He died some years ago.

Now, I realize this sounds like some Bogart/Bergman movie, but these were times that things like that happened. Can you imagine Lt. "J" being in the Hotel Crillon bar drinking with his friend Earnest Hemingway, who wants to go up and "interrogate" a German officer? Lt. "J" said, "that isn't going to happen". "J" was not there, but Lt. "J" was there and likely prevented an incident.

I wish that I had more of a timeline to go with this. One day, I may get to ask "J"........