An O. S. S. Secret Agent Behind Enemy Lines : The Second World War Exploits of Lieutenant Leif Bangsbà ll

“… tells how Lief began his military service, the unusual circumstances that led to his OSS recruitment, his training in Canada, and his ‘night parachute mission behind enemy lines in the European theater of war as an agent in the OSS.’” – Studies in Intelligence

More than a Viking call to arms, An O.S.S. Secret Agent Behind Enemy Lines chronicles the incredible life of Leif Bangsboll up to and including the Second World War. Compiled by Bangsboll’s son, this book explores the life of, variously, a Danish sailor, Norwegian aviator, American airborne serviceman, Green Beret soldier, and secret agent with the Office of Strategic Services.

Brook G. Bangsboll heard his father’s stories told and retold around the dinner table as far back as he could remember. He recalled his father talking of his christening at five weeks old aboard His Danish Majesty’s Ship Grønsund in the middle of the North Sea during the First World War; about his attendance as a young man at German Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday celebration in Berlin; and about his unplanned role in a rescue mission off the embattled shores of Dunkirk.

Invigorated by the heroic efforts of the Allies at Dunkirk, Leif then joined the Norwegian Air Force and was trained as a pilot in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Prior to being assigned to an operational squadron, Flight Sergeant Bangsboll was recruited into the United States Army by Colonel William ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan to become a field agent for the Office of Strategic Services, or O.S.S..

After completing his O.S.S. training at the top-secret facility known as Camp X, located on the shores of Lake Ontario, Second Lieutenant Bangsboll was sent to the United Kingdom to work with the O.S.S.’ counterparts at Special Operations Executive. In October 1944 Lieutenant Bangsboll was parachuted into in the dark skies over occupied Denmark to lead the Danish Resistance forces in the central region of Jutland, operating out of the city of Aarhus.

Operating under the field name of Mr. Jorgen Bech, ostensibly a Danish Maritime Engineer and businessman, Bangsboll trained Danish resistance fighters, planned and led sabotage missions against the German occupation forces and hunted down and eliminated known collaborators. For ten months he played a dangerous and daring game of cat and mouse with the Gestapo.

In the spring of 1945, Lieutenant Bangsboll was reassigned by the O.S.S. to Copenhagen where during the final days of the war, he led an assault to capture the fortified German garrison at Ryvangen. His efforts in this assault would earn him the United States Distinguished Service Cross as well as the Danish Royal Knights Order of King Christian X – sighted for ‘courage and selfless bravery in the face of the enemy’.

BROOK G. BANGSBOLL followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the U.S. Army after high school in Toronto, Canada. Upon completion of the United States Military Academy (West Point) Preparatory College, Brook returned to Canada to pursue a career with the Canadian Armed Forces. A professionally trained and tested Senior Logistics Office in the field of transportation and air movements, Brook has over thirty years of experience in the Royal Canadian Air Force, serving on numerous operations with NORAD, NATO and the United Nations, including the Gulf War, the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, and in the war against ISIS on Operation IMPACT, as the Commanding Officer of Camp Canada and the Operational Support HUB, at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait. Brook is a consultant in the Defence and Logistics industry and serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Battlefield Foundation and is Chairperson for the Board of Directors of the 410 Wing (National Capital) Chapter of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association and is an Executive Board Member of the Maritime Aviation Veterans Association.