Jan 4, 1920: On this date, William Colby born in St Paul, MN. He graduated from Princeton with an AB in politics with a senior thesis titled "Surrender -- French Policy toward the Spanish Civil War.”
He volunteered for the US Army in 1941 and served in the OSS in France & Norway. Codename, “Berkshire.” (1/4)
At age 24, William Colby led a Jedburgh team (BRUCE) behind Nazi lines in occupied France in August 1944. He led 6000 Maquis irregulars in resistance to the Nazis. (2/4)
https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/surprise-kill-vanish-the-legend-of-the-jedburghs/
#WW2
#OfficeOfStrategicServices
#Jedburgh
#StPaul
#MN
#Maquis
In April, 1945, William Colby led the NORSO group in Operation Rype.
Working in occupied Norway, the operation sabotaged rail lines to prevent German military reinforcement of Germany in the waning days of WW2. (3/4)
#WW2
#OfficeOfStrategicServices
#Jedburgh
#StPaul
#MN
#Norway
#OperationRype
William Colby, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is best remembered for his stint as America's top spy from 1973 to 1976. It was a precarious stretch for the CIA, during which Congress, in a reformist mood after the Watergate scandal, launched investigations that unmasked many of the agency's…
Minnesota Spy Club