"A major asked me this question, "Defourneaux, how would you like to go back to the old country before everyone else?' And I said, 'And how you propose to send me there?'" (Audio Interview, 5:21)

Rene J. Defourneaux

René Défourneaux, detail from group photo of "Deer Team" with Ho Chi Minh and Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap [1945] War: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953 Branch: Army; Army Unit: OSS-CIC; OSS-CIC Service Location: European Theater; Pacific Theater Rank: Major; Major Place of Birth: **

He was born in France and emigrated to the U.S. just before World War II broke out in Europe. René Défourneaux wound up back in France when the OSS recruited him for his language skills. He found working with his old countrymen surprisingly difficult; they seemed to resent the Americans who came to save them from the Nazis. Late in the war, Défourneaux parachuted into the China-Burma-India Theater, where he almost died from a severe case of hepatitis and met a rising political leader named Ho Chi Minh.