Elizabeth McIntosh: Reporter, Spy, Author (1915-2015)

June 9, 2015 9:10 AM

Elizabeth McIntosh died this week. She witnessed Pearl Harbor as a reporter (her account was too graphic to be published), worked for OSS in Asia, tried to go back to journalism, wrote children's books, and became an advocate for and historian about women in the OSS and CIA.

There's also a Library of Congress Veteran's History Project Interview with McIntosh in which she talks about being in Hawaii and the attack on Pearl Harbor and about being a WW2 spy.

She talked to the Post 3 years ago about making friends in retirement with another OSS spy and about their experiences.

posted by julen (9 comments total)

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posted by jessian at 9:21 AM on June 9, 2015

Here's her graphic account of Pearl Harbor, first published in 2012.
posted by exogenous at 9:22 AM on June 9, 2015 [7 favorites]

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posted by haiku warrior at 10:08 AM on June 9, 2015

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posted by suelac at 10:55 AM on June 9, 2015

. What an interesting life.
posted by dabug at 10:59 AM on June 9, 2015

Her account is chilling...I have to wonder if it wasn't just the graphic nature of it that kept it from being published, but rather her praise of women.
posted by agregoli at 11:03 AM on June 9, 2015

Worth noting that the Japanese did not bomb civilian neighborhoods in the attack - many of the civilian deaths were caused by friendly fire.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:43 PM on June 9, 2015

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posted by clavdivs at 2:38 PM on June 9, 2015

I'm sorry I hadn't heard of her, or read her, until now.

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posted by mixedmetaphors at 4:16 PM on June 9, 2015