Peter Lyderik
Hyper Active Member
John Hasey Dies at 88; French Foreign Legion, CIA Operations Officer
By Joe Holley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
John F. "Jack" Hasey, 88, an American captain in the French Foreign Legion during World War II and a senior operations officer with the CIA, died May 9 at Virginia Hospital Center of complications from a stroke.
An Arlington resident, he was one of four Americans -- including Dwight D. Eisenhower -- decorated with France's highest World War II honor, Companion of the Order of the Liberation.
Mr. Hasey was born in Brockton, Mass., and attended Columbia University. In 1936, he went to France with the idea of enrolling at the Sorbonne and polishing his French, but when he found out how expensive school would be, he changed plans and answered a classified ad placed by Cartier, the venerable French jeweler. The company was looking for someone who spoke English, and Mr. Hasey was hired.
He became a Cartier salesman, working in Paris, Cannes, Deauville and Monte Carlo. At the gaming tables of Monte Carlo, his modus operandi was to don an elegant dinner jacket and home in on whoever happened to be on a hot streak, particularly if the gambler had a female companion on his arm.
Mr. Hasey would display his sparkling wares, and the gambler, to please and impress his companion, would invariably buy (although, as Mr. Hasey's son recalled, Cartier had to institute a policy: No returned merchandise the morning after).
When the Finnish-Russian War broke out in 1939, Mr. Hasey felt he should do something to help the cause of the Finnish people. In Paris, at a table at the famed Harry's Bar, he and several other Americans formed an ambulance unit and raised money for two ambulances. He and three companions went to the front to drive. He was wounded in 1940 when his right forearm was shattered during an air raid.
After recuperating, he was planning to return to Cartier, but World War II changed his plans. When France fell, he learned that Charles de Gaulle had a Free French Foreign Legion Corps outside London. He volunteered and was accepted, eventually serving in 12 countries and three colonies, on three continents and across 50,000 miles.
A book he wrote with Joseph Dinneen, "Yankee Fighter" (1942), recounted how he was leading a 40-man platoon into combat when shrapnel shattered the foot of one of his men. Mr. Hasey cut it off above the ankle, and the platoon moved on, hoping the man would be found by an ambulance crew.
In the 1941 Battle for Syria, the 24-year-old American sub-lieutenant's right jaw and larynx were shot away by enemy machine gun fire when he led French troops in a bayonet and grenade charge against strong positions outside Damascus.
An ambulance driver told a United Press reporter that an "extremely game" Mr. Hasey "was fully conscious when the first operation was given with only a local anesthetic, and insisted upon holding the instruments to help the surgeon insert a tube in his throat."
He was personally decorated by de Gaulle as "the first American to shed his blood for the liberation of France." Earlier, he had received a war cross with palms for bravery in the battle of Ceren, Eritrea. In 1996, French President Jacques Chirac named him an officer of the Legion of Honor.
An Associated Press report on Jan. 14, 1942, recounted that while Mr. Hasey was crossing the desert en route to the United States to have his injuries treated by plastic surgeons in Boston, his plane was forced down by enemy fire. He and his companions narrowly escaped injury.
He told reporters he was glad to be home but eager to fight again either for Free France or for his own United States. He was with the Foreign Legion for six years.
He went back to England after his recovery and worked with de Gaulle and other leaders of the Resistance in London, eventually becoming a liaison between de Gaulle and Eisenhower.
After the war, he rejoined Cartier, working as a sales manager in Paris and New York City. He joined the CIA in 1950. Becoming a station chief and senior operations officer, he served in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He retired in 1974.
In retirement, Mr. Hasey enjoyed traveling the world. He also was a year-round gardener with a greenhouse at his Arlington home.
Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Barbara Hasey of Arlington; a son, Richard Hasey of Lexington, Va.; and two grandchildren.
By Joe Holley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
John F. "Jack" Hasey, 88, an American captain in the French Foreign Legion during World War II and a senior operations officer with the CIA, died May 9 at Virginia Hospital Center of complications from a stroke.
An Arlington resident, he was one of four Americans -- including Dwight D. Eisenhower -- decorated with France's highest World War II honor, Companion of the Order of the Liberation.
Mr. Hasey was born in Brockton, Mass., and attended Columbia University. In 1936, he went to France with the idea of enrolling at the Sorbonne and polishing his French, but when he found out how expensive school would be, he changed plans and answered a classified ad placed by Cartier, the venerable French jeweler. The company was looking for someone who spoke English, and Mr. Hasey was hired.
He became a Cartier salesman, working in Paris, Cannes, Deauville and Monte Carlo. At the gaming tables of Monte Carlo, his modus operandi was to don an elegant dinner jacket and home in on whoever happened to be on a hot streak, particularly if the gambler had a female companion on his arm.
Mr. Hasey would display his sparkling wares, and the gambler, to please and impress his companion, would invariably buy (although, as Mr. Hasey's son recalled, Cartier had to institute a policy: No returned merchandise the morning after).
When the Finnish-Russian War broke out in 1939, Mr. Hasey felt he should do something to help the cause of the Finnish people. In Paris, at a table at the famed Harry's Bar, he and several other Americans formed an ambulance unit and raised money for two ambulances. He and three companions went to the front to drive. He was wounded in 1940 when his right forearm was shattered during an air raid.
After recuperating, he was planning to return to Cartier, but World War II changed his plans. When France fell, he learned that Charles de Gaulle had a Free French Foreign Legion Corps outside London. He volunteered and was accepted, eventually serving in 12 countries and three colonies, on three continents and across 50,000 miles.
A book he wrote with Joseph Dinneen, "Yankee Fighter" (1942), recounted how he was leading a 40-man platoon into combat when shrapnel shattered the foot of one of his men. Mr. Hasey cut it off above the ankle, and the platoon moved on, hoping the man would be found by an ambulance crew.
In the 1941 Battle for Syria, the 24-year-old American sub-lieutenant's right jaw and larynx were shot away by enemy machine gun fire when he led French troops in a bayonet and grenade charge against strong positions outside Damascus.
An ambulance driver told a United Press reporter that an "extremely game" Mr. Hasey "was fully conscious when the first operation was given with only a local anesthetic, and insisted upon holding the instruments to help the surgeon insert a tube in his throat."
He was personally decorated by de Gaulle as "the first American to shed his blood for the liberation of France." Earlier, he had received a war cross with palms for bravery in the battle of Ceren, Eritrea. In 1996, French President Jacques Chirac named him an officer of the Legion of Honor.
An Associated Press report on Jan. 14, 1942, recounted that while Mr. Hasey was crossing the desert en route to the United States to have his injuries treated by plastic surgeons in Boston, his plane was forced down by enemy fire. He and his companions narrowly escaped injury.
He told reporters he was glad to be home but eager to fight again either for Free France or for his own United States. He was with the Foreign Legion for six years.
He went back to England after his recovery and worked with de Gaulle and other leaders of the Resistance in London, eventually becoming a liaison between de Gaulle and Eisenhower.
After the war, he rejoined Cartier, working as a sales manager in Paris and New York City. He joined the CIA in 1950. Becoming a station chief and senior operations officer, he served in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He retired in 1974.
In retirement, Mr. Hasey enjoyed traveling the world. He also was a year-round gardener with a greenhouse at his Arlington home.
Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Barbara Hasey of Arlington; a son, Richard Hasey of Lexington, Va.; and two grandchildren.