The Leper Spy : The Story of an Unlikely Hero of World War II

The GIs called her Joey. Hundreds owed their lives to the tiny Filipina who stashed explosives in spare tires, tracked Japanese troop movements, and smuggled maps of fortifications across enemy lines. As the Battle of Manila raged, Josefina Guerrero walked through gunfire to bandage wounds and close the eyes of the dead. Her valor earned her the Medal of Freedom, but what made her a good spy was also destroying her: leprosy, which so horrified the Japanese they refused to search her. After the war, army chaplains found her in a nightmarish leper colony and fought for the US government to do something it had never done: welcome a foreigner with leprosy. This brought her celebrity, which she used to publicly speak for other sufferers. However, the notoriety haunted her and she sought a way to disappear. Ben Montgomery now brings Guerrero's heroic accomplishments to light. The GIs called her Joey. Hundreds owed their lives to the tiny Filipina woman who was one of the top spies for the Allies during World War II, stashing explosives, tracking Japanese troop movements, and smuggling maps of fortifications across enemy lines for Gen. Douglas MacArthur. As the Battle of Manila raged, young Josefina Guerrero walked through gunfire to bandage wounds and close the eyes of the dead. Her valor earned her the Medal of Freedom, but the thing that made her an effective spy was a disease that was destroying her.Guerrero suffered from leprosy, which so horrified the Japanese they refused to search her. After the war, army chaplains found her in a nightmarish leper colony and campaigned for the US government to do something it had never done: welcome a foreigner with leprosy. The fight brought her celebrity, which she used on radio and television to speak for other sufferers. However, the notoriety haunted her after the disease was arrested, and she had to find a way to disappear. The GIs called her Joey. Hundreds owed their lives to the tiny Filipina woman who was one of the top spies for the Allies during World War II, stashing explosives, tracking Japanese troop movements, and smuggling maps of fortifications across enemy lines for Gen. Douglas MacArthur. As the Battle of Manila raged, young Josefina Guerrero walked through gunfire to bandage wounds and close the eyes of the dead. Her valor earned her the Medal of Freedom, but the thing that made her an effective spy was a disease that was destroying her. Guerrero suffered from leprosy, which so horrified the Japanese they refused to search her. After the war, army chaplains found her in a nightmarish leper colony and campaigned for the US government to do something it had never welcome a foreigner with leprosy. The fight brought her celebrity, which she used on radio and television to speak for other sufferers. However, the notoriety haunted her after the disease was arrested, and she had to find a way to disappear. "In 1944, as World War II raged in the Pacific, a young, vivacious Filipino woman with leprosy named Josefina Guerrero was swept up in the underground guerrilla movement in Manila. The convent-educated girl who loved reading poetry and listening to Chopin and Beethoven became one of the most reliable and courageous spies for the United States in the Pacific Theater, putting her life at risk for no reward but to help the Americans oust the Japanese occupiers from her homeland. She stalked through the woods, mapping machine-gun turrets around Manila Bay and delivering the maps to the United States so Gen. Douglas MacArthur's troops knew where to drop bombs. She penetrated Japanese munitions holdings and alerted underground leaders. She secreted food and medicine to U.S. prisoners of war being tortured and starved in internment camps"-- Provided by publisher Everything is in readiness Fools Family Sirens Safeguards Bombs Envelope Boys Hobnailed boots Bastards Volunteer Leaflets Gone Espionage Speedo Spies Promise Beleaguered Taken Pledge I'm a leper Vengeance Landings Advance Map Los Banos Dispatched Leper camp Loose ends Visits In sickness Independence Spotlight Discovery Return to the Rock All that is changed Medals Friends of friends Carville Old fears Crusader Fallen Controversy Fences Walk alone Praise Bureaucracy Sisters Deportation California Sunset Disappear I am still alive Anonymous.