I was an American spy undercover for almost a year behind enemy lines — as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services (the “OSS”) during World War II. In Trained to be an OSS Spy, I looked back to my training, experiences in espionage, and my metamorphosis from boy to man, to soldier, and then to spy. I was born in Canton, Ohio. When I was two, we packed our bags for Crete and left the United States for Greece because my grandmother became blind after she fell from a tree picking figs.

Destiny would then find me caught in Greece’ struggle during the early years of WW II, and I watched as German paratroopers, the Fallschirmjager, fell from the skies in the Battle of Crete on May 20, 1941. Some British agents, who worked in English Intelligence, saw my brother’s ability to help the Allied cause. Since we spoke English, these English agents asked him to head a resistance organization. However, working with English Intelligence’ Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the legendary Patrick Leigh Fermor led to betrayal by a local Cretan. Chased by the Gestapo from Crete, the SOE helped our group escape to Egypt.

There, I joined the American Army, and due to my experience with the SOE and fluency in Greek, English and German, I was recruited by the OSS. This was an episode that changed my life forever. I was trained for six months in commando training and defensive skills, secret weapons invented by the OSS like the pen gun, Morse code ciphering and blending into strange surroundings. I was sent back to Salonica, Greece where I set up a wireless radio in an abandoned Greek-Jewish factory.

At 91, I recalled this incredible odyssey in this new book, and how I escaped from the Germans on many occasions during my mission. Constantly moments from being caught – my wireless radio in plain view – I resolved to take a small glass vial of cyanide to end my life if captured. Yet, I survived to tell my story of hope and victory.