Thread by @kach022

1. Yesterday at lunch I met a spy. His name is Robert Holmstrom and we met in a diner in St Paul. I was on my way home from a medical appointment. Robert was waiting for a detective who was meeting him for lunch.

2. I 1st noticed his WWII Veteran cap when he walked in, and as I was leaving I stopped to say hello and ask where he served. He said he served in Europe, and over the next 20 min I learned about Operation Carpetbagger, a B-24 called Night Knight, and about The Resistance.

3. It turns out Robert had been a fighter pilot in the war before joining Operation Carpetbagger, a highly secret operation that flew supplies and support to the network of Allied resistance fighters/spies scattered across Europe.

4.

5. He was based north of London on a base that was so secret most people who worked there didn’t even know what was happening there. His unit was connected to the OSS (precursor to the CIA). He was trained by the MI6.

6. Robert along with other OSS members received Congressional Golf Medals

7. In no particular order, some of the things I learned from Robert:

-He was sworn to secrecy and his wife died never knowing what he did.
(The time period requiring secrecy has lapsed so he is free to talk now.)

8. -The supplies delivered (by airdrop) to the Allied resistance network included: Rifles, Hand Grenades, Dynamite, Blood Plasma, Drugs & Radios.

-All supplies were packed into sealed drums that weighed between 300-330 lbs.

-They also dropped anti-German propaganda leaflets.

9. -Sometimes they dropped off more spies, and when they did, a radio guy and a person from the country (or with relatives in that country) accompanied the resistance spy to help them get set up.

-Women made the best spies b/c they could go more places without raising suspicion

10. -Most deployed resistance members lived away from high population centers. This made it easier to drop supplies for them without being detected.

-They left on missions at 8-9 pm London time so they were over drop zones in the dark.

11. -There was no radio use during missions; all radio comm was coded and was handled before the flights.

-They flew in B-24 Bombers that were painted black to help avoid detection by the Germans.

-Robert’s plane was called Night Knight :)

12. B-24 Liberator

13. -Drop zones were identified by 3 fires in a row with one off to the side. Flashlights might be used instead of fire.

-Every 6-8 min during a flight the navigator pointed out landmarks like monasteries/churches/orphanages where crew members were to go if the plane went down

14. -Robert said it was difficult to keep remembering new landmarks every 6-8 minutes during a mission.

-On some missions they retrieved flight crew members from downed planes, or resistance fighters who were coming back to London.

15.

16. -On a typical mission they flew across Europe to near the Western border of Russia, then turned back and headed home. These flights lasted all night.

-On the return flight they usually approached England as the sun was rising and saw it shining on the White Cliffs of Dover.

17.

18. -Robert’s and his mates’ records still have no formal name and are buried underground in a vault in Falls Church Virginia.

-He told me that a women had written a book about his life. When I asked how I could get a copy he said he had a few in his car.

19. I bought a copy of his book for $20. He said all money from his book sales went to the VA.

20. I noticed there was a copy of The Kite Runner on the floor of Robert’s car. Once a soldier, always a soldier, I think.

21. I don’t know if the detective he was waiting for ever showed up to meet Robert for lunch, but I do know there’s a profound difference between the “hashtag resistance” and the true heroes who made up the Allied resistance and their support network.

22. Today’s costumed, constitution-hating “resistance” snowflakes dress up and play warrior, while the true resistance was the brave souls who got dropped off at 3am in remote areas of the European countryside without any guarantee of safety or protection from a fierce enemy.

23.(END) They and the soldiers like Robert Holmstrom who supported them are the ones worthy of being called The Resistance.

You’d have liked this guy @Troy75801