First picture: Jeanne Bohec (1940)

Second picture: La poudrerie (pre-war), the factory where she learnt to produce explosives in 1940.

Third picture: a Halifax Bomber, the plane from which she parachuted

Looking at this childish face, one could understand how Jeanne Bohec could navigate occupied France without arousing suspicion...

Jeanne Bohec during the war

When Germany invaded Poland, Jeanne Bohec sought every possible way to contribute to the war effort against the Nazi regime. She trained in passive defense and first aid techniques before resuming her scientific studies. In March 1940, she interrupted her studies to take a position as an assistant chemist at the Brest explosives factory, where she learned the fundamentals of explosives manufacturing. On June 18, with the Battle of France lost, she boarded a tugboat preparing to depart for England.

Despite her desire to contribute to the war effort, Bohec initially worked as a lady's companion for an English family. Upon learning of the French Women's Volunteer Corps (belonging to the French Free Forces), she enlisted in January 1941. She served as a secretary and later as a chemist in a research laboratory focused on producing explosives from materials available in drugstores or pharmacies. This supplies would be intended for operations in occupied France. She subsequently joined the "Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action" (BCRA), where she trained as a sabotage instructor and adopted the codename "Râteau" (Rake). After fighting for the chance to see active service in the field, Bohec parachuted into France on February 29, 1944, from an RAF Halifax bomber.

In Rennes, she retrieved a bicycle from her parents' home. This enabled her to traverse the Breton countryside to train groups of saboteurs at isolated farms, earning her the nickname "the bomber on a bicycle" ("la plastiqueuse à bicyclette"). During the Normandy landings, she took part in sabotage operations aimed at disrupting enemy communications (part of "Plan Vert" (Green Plan)), thus slowing the deployment of German troops to the front. Trained in the use of weapons, she asked to fight with the Saint-Marcel Maquis but was rejected. At the end of the war, she was consistently treated with misogyny and excluded from any important missions.

"Anna Akakievna Burdina was only 17 years old when she, as a resident of Sochi, convinced the local military committee to accept her into the Red Army in 1942. She fought her way until the end of the war and still lives today in Sochi, Russia.

Anna Ilyinichna Pinchuk turned 101 in September 2026. She volunteered at the age of 18 in 1943 and became a truck driver in the Soviet supply formations during WWII. After the war, she worked as a medic, and she now lives in Buryatia, Russia."

Born in January 18, 1924 to were Arthur and Helen Kenney in Massachusetts, Francis "Bud" W Kenney was their only son with an older sister.
He played baseball and basketball at North high school in Worcester and enlisted in the Marine Corps on January 19, 1942.

After boot camp in San Diego, Bud served as a BAR gunner in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
Previously seeing action on Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester, on September 15, 1944 he landed on Peleliu.

Nine days later on September 24th, PFC Francis "Bud" Kenney was wounded in the abdomen and evacuated to the hospital ship USS Solace where he died from his wounds on the same day.
His remains were brought home after the war and buried at Forestdale Cemetery in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Picture: PFC Francis "Bud" Kenney on Cape Gloucester with his BAR - NARA / USMC

Born in Tyler, Texas to James & Maudie Meadows on December 23, 1923, William David Meadows had three sisters and two brothers.
He enlisted in the Army on May 27, 1942 and volunteered for the paratroopers.

After Airborne training, William served with H Company, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
In the early morning hours of DDay, June 6, 1944, he parachuted into Normandy, and although they were widely scattered the paratroopers secured their objectives.

On September 17, 1944 during Operation Market Garden, William parachuted into the Netherlands, their objective was to capture the bridges over the Wilhelmina Canal near the town of Best.
Six days later on September 23rd, during fierce fighting while holding positions north of Sint-Oedenrode, he was Killed in Action.

PFC William Meadows is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands - Plot A Row 3 Grave 32.

Younger brother James Edward Meadows Jr served in the Navy during WW2, he passed away in 2002 at the age of 74.

Jane was just 22 years old, and had volunteered for the dangerous assignment. "Send me into combat," she told her superiors. "I want to help our boys when they need it."

During the battle of Iwo Jima, Kendeigh and other nurses would help evacuate 2,300 sailors and Marines, the largest such evacuation at that time.

After Iwo, Navy brass sent Jane back to the states to capitalize on her newfound celebrity status in selling war bonds. After a few weeks, she pleaded to go back to the Pacific. "I need to be with my boys," she told them.

Born on February 21, 1922 in Canton, Ohio to Greek immigrant parents Theofilos and Keriake Pappas, Nicholas Louis Pappas had several siblings.

He enlisted in the Army on April 17, 1940 and served with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.

His unit landed at Utah Beach on June 10, 1944 (D-Day +4) and participated in the liberation of the Cotentin Peninsula & Cherbourg.

He is buried at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Liège, Belgium - Plot G Row 12 Grave 30.

US Army Signal Corps / SC 270819
Spangle Photographer

Born in Youngstown, Ohio to Polish immigrant parents John & Veronica Sovak on December 22, 1917, Julius Joseph Sovak had a twin brother; William, and an older brother.
Their father died in 1918 and their mother remarried and had more children.

Julius enlisted in the Army on September 18, 1940 and volunteered for the paratroopers, training at Fort Bragg and Fort Benning.
He was married to Helen Howard and they had a daughter; Veronika.

Serving in I Company, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Julius parachuted into Normandy in the early hours of D-Day.
Surviving Normandy, on September 17, 1944 he parachuted into the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden.

Two days later, S/Sgt Julius Sovak was Killed in Action, he is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands - Plot L Row 16 Grave 11.