Born: 28 September 1900, United States
Died: 5 June 1951
Country most active: France
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Women from a variety of countries, including Britain and the US, served in the French Resistance. Isabel Townsend Pell was an American socialite who joined the French Resistance during World War II — one of the few women who was part of the Maquis — purportedly due to her good aim. Going by a code name of Fredericka, she was commonly known as “the girl with the blond mèche” (mèche de cheveux means lock of hair). She was imprisoned twice during the war, and subsequently decorated with the Legion of Honor for her service.