Character

OSS Agent: Lieutenant Mike Powell

DOB: May 5, 1916.
POB: Rice Lake, WI
Education: West Point, Military History, Languages
Languages: English, French, German

Prior to his entry into military service, Lieutenant Mike Powell completed a degree in military history and languages at West Point. He served as a rifleman in the 34th Infantry Division, where he showed marksmanship and field craft second to none amongst the thousands of applicants to the 1st Ranger Battalion.

His performance at Carrickfergus and at the live fire training exercises at Achnacarry, Scotland was exemplary. The OSS thus internally (and unofficially) designated Powell as 'special infantry', an elite soldier with Ranger-level training, available for and subject to flexible and short-term reassignment for specific missions requiring covert deception and/or sabotage in preparation for major offensives.

History of the OSS

Espionage is perhaps as old as war itself. Knowing as much as you can about your enemy (and sometimes your allies) is the foundation upon which battle plans are often prepared. Nonetheless, back in the early 1940's, the idea of a central government agency responsible for gathering intelligence was rather new - and controversial. Then something happened on December 7, 1941 at a place called Pearl Harbor.

The Office of Strategic Services was officially created in June of 1942, under the guidance of General "Wild Bill" Donovan. If ever the romantic notions of being a spy actually existed, it probably was with the OSS. Young men and woman, many of whom were recruited out of Ivy League schools, entered into the sometimes literal cloak and dagger world of wartime intelligence. It was an exciting and dangerous time, and as the war grew, so did the mission of the OSS. Sabotage, subversion, search and rescue all became part of the organization's daily operation.