Intel history

Give Thanks for the OSS

As we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II this year - and increasingly rely on our intelligence and special operations communities to defend the United States - we should remember that they were born in the crucible of World War II.

In June 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt created the OSS. Roosevelt appointed as its director the legendary General William “Wild Bill” Donovan, the only American to receive our nation’s four highest decorations, including the Medal of Honor. Donovan dedicated his entire life to serving the United States, starting in World War I as part of the “Fighting 69th” Infantry Regiment. One of our nation’s leading attorneys, he served as an assistant United States attorney general and as the U.S.attorney for the Western District of New York. President Roosevelt sent him to Great Britain in 1940 as one of his personal emissaries. Following World War II, he served as ambassador to Thailand during the height of the Cold War.