‘Spy girls’ find each other in retirement

Decades after duty, neighbors Betty McIntosh and Doris Bohrer discover they have something in common: Undercover pasts as OSS operatives during World War II.

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May 24, 2011

Doris Bohrer, center, and Betty McIntosh, right, didn't know each other when they served in the nation's first espionage agency, the Office of Strategic Services, during World War II. But now, the two are close friends.

Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

May 24, 2011

Decades after working for the OSS, Doris Bohrer, left, and Betty McIntosh, right, would become neighbors, living on the same street at the Westminster at Lake Ridge retirement center in Prince William County.

Katherine Frey / THE WASHINGTON POST

May 24, 2011

Doris Bohrer has a collection of memorabilia from her time with the OSS, including a photograph of herself with her gun and uniform.

Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

May 24, 2011

Doris Bohrer holds dog tags from her time in the OSS. After Pearl Harbor, the Montgomery Blair High School graduate took the civil service exam. The first call came from the OSS.

Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

May 24, 2011

A letter written by Doris Bohrer to an OSS official requesting to be stationed in Austria after a stint in Italy. At the age of 20, she was helping plot the Allied invasion on the Italian front and was eventually stationed on the country's Adriatic coast.

Courtesy of Doris Bohrer

May 24, 2011

Elizabeth McIntosh's Certificate of Identity of Noncombatant. In her late 20s, McIntosh was working as a reporter. While covering an event at the Department of Agriculture, an OSS official approached her about a secret overseas assignment. She went on to join one of the quirkier branches of the OSS: Morale Operations.

Courtesy of Elizabeth McIntosh

May 24, 2011

Doris Bohrer, left, and Betty McIntosh look through Bohrer's memorabilia. Now 88 and 96, respectively, the women, who laugh like girls when they reminisce, are nearly inseparable.

Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

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