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December 12, 2006: Virginia Hall Honored by Three Nations

Tuesday, December 12, 2006, saw Virginia Hall finally receive the kind of public recognition she so richly deserved. French ambassador Jean-David Levitte and British ambassador Sir David Manning co-hosted a ceremony held at the French residence in Washington, where a privately commissioned painting of Hall in action was unveiled.

The painting, by artist Jeffrey W. Bass, shows Hall in radio contact with the Allies. The scene was taken from Wolves at the Door: an old French barn, complete with a barn cat napping and straw on the floor. Also with Hall is one of her captains, Edmund Lebrat, who is using a modified bicycle to generate electricity for the radio. The painting's title, "Les Marguerites Fleuriront Ce Soir" ("The Daisies Will Bloom Tonight"), refers to a code phrase for parachute drops.

At the ceremony, Ambassador Manning presented a certificate signed by King George VI to Hall's niece, Lorna Catling. Hall should have received the document in 1943, when she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. She was given the medal, but never the warrant, which has survived in a London vault all these years. Ambassador Levitee presented Ms. Catling with a letter from French president Jacques Chirac, commending Hall's bravery during the war. Also present was Baltimore mayor, and Maryland governor-elect, Richard O'Malley, who also heralded Baltimore's native daughter.

Erik Kirzinger of Madison, N.C., an advocate for greater recognition of the heroics of covert operatives, spearheaded the painting and the ceremony. Kirzinger previously commissioned a painting of CIA pilots flying provisions into a French post in Viet Nam in 1954. He secures donors to finance the paintings and donates them to the CIA's fine arts collection.

"If these folks were in the active military, there would be marching bands and mayors making speeches and stuff, but because they're in the clandestine service, their stories don't generally get told," Kirzinger said. A truer truth was never expressed.