WEBVTT

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- Hi everyone, this is Chaplain Berson

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and today's thought is
about being underestimated.

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We've all had times where
we felt that our skills

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were underappreciated or undervalued,

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but today's story is about
someone who turned that

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into a strength.

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Virginia Hall was born on April 6th, 1906

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and grew up in a well-off American family

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dreaming of becoming a foreign diplomat.

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Even though she could
speak five languages,

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she could only get a job as a clerk

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simply because she was a woman.

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At 27, Hall lost her leg
in a hunting accident

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and had to leave her position
at the US State Department.

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She nearly died and spent a year

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learning to walk on a prosthetic leg.

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After she recovered, Hall moved to Paris

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where she volunteered
as an ambulance driver

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to help with the war effort.

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When the Nazis invaded, Hall
joined the British resistance.

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With virtually no training,

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she quickly built a group
of 90 agents in her network

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that rescued downed airmen

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and ran sabotage missions
throughout France.

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A German wanted poster called her,

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"The most dangerous of allied spies".

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In 1942, the Gestapo
discovered her location

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and to escape, she led her spy group

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30 miles through the Pyrenees
mountains into Spain,

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while hiking in snow in
November at over 7500 feet,

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all with only one leg.

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Hall eventually worked with
an American espionage Office

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in London, becoming a master of disguise.

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She often dressed as an old woman

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and was so dismissed that she
gained valuable intelligence

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from German officers by
walking right next to them.

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On D-day, her team destroyed
bridges, derailed trains

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and cut telephone lines,

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all of which helped
ensure the Allied victory.

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After the war, she was
the only female civilian

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awarded the Distinguished
Service Cross for bravery.

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President Truman wanted to
present her with the metal

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in person at the White House,

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but Hall declined since she
wished to remain anonymous,

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so that she could continue
her undercover work,

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which she did, until she
retired from the CIA.

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It can be frustrating if
someone underestimates us,

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particularly if it
limits our opportunities,

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but Virginia Hall used the
way that others underrated her

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as an asset to accomplish
what others couldn't.

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Do it feels good when our gifts
and talents are acknowledged

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by others?

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I hope this week, that we
never underestimate the power

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of being underestimated.

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Blessings this week.

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(upbeat music)