NARRATION: IN THE WILLLOWBANK CEMETERY, OVERLOOKING THE TOWN OF WOLFVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA, JUST OFF RIDGE ROAD THERE'S A PROMINENT GRAVE MARKER. WHETHER BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN, THE SIMPLE INSCRIPTION CONCEALS THE RICH STORY OF A WAR HERO. FILLED WITH ROMANCE, INTRIGUE AND IRONY, THE STORY MIGHT HAVE REMAINED BURIED, IF NOT FOR THE SCHOLARLY WHIM OF AUTHOR AND ACTRESS, ANDRIA HILL. ANDRIA HILL: I FIRST CAME ACROSS MONA S STORY WHILE I WAS DOING RESEARCH FOR MY MASTERS THESIS. AND I CAME ACROSS A SINGLE ARTICLE SAYING THAT THIS ALUMNA OF THE ACADIAN LADIES SEMINARY HAD BEEN FOUND SAFE AT THE WAR'S END AFTER SPENDING NEARLY FOUR YEARS IN NAZI PRISONS. BUT THERE WAS NO SINGLE BODY OF INFORMATION ABOUT HER. AND SO THUS BEGAN THE BIG QUEST. NARRATION: THE QUEST FOR MONA'S STORY BEGINS IN MIDDLETON, IN THE HEART OF NOVA SCOTIA S ANNAPOLIS VALLEY, WHERE SHE WAS BORN IN 1901 AT 370 MAIN STREET. MONA'S FATHER, NORVEL, OWNED AND OPERATED THE PARSONS AND ELLIOTT HOME FURNISHING BUSINESS JUST AROUND THEo CORNER ON COMMERCIAL STREET. IT PROVIDED WELL FOR MONA, HER OLDER BROTHERS ROSS AND GWYNN, AND HER MOTHER MARY. MONA ENJOYED A PRIVILEGED EARLY LIFE. HER FATHER, NORVEL, WAS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN AND A LIEUTENANT COLONEL IN THE LOCAL MILITIA. HE INSTILLED IN MONA A POSITIVE ATTITUDE, LOYALTY, PATRIOTISM. SHE AND HER BROTHERS ATTENDED THE NEW MacDONALD CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. THIS CLASS PHOTOGRAPH, TAKEN IN 1910, INCLUDES A STILL SHY NINE YEAR-OLD MONA. CHRISTMAS OF THAT YEAR SAW THE PARSONS FAMILY SET TO ENJOY A PROSPEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR. BUT LIFE FOR MONA, HER FAMILY AND THE TOWN OF MIDDLETON WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE. ON JANUARY 26th, 1911, DOWNTOWN MIDDLETON BURNED TO THE GROUND, INCLUDING THE PARSONS ELLIOTT STORE. THIS PICTURE OF THE STILL SMOULDERING RUINS SHOWS THE COMPLETE DEVASTATION. INSURANCE WOULD PRESERVE THE FAMILY FORTUNES. AND NORVEL, FINDING OPPORTUNITY IN ADVERSITY, MOVED THE FAMILY SIXTY KILOMETERS UP THE TRACKS TO WOLFVILLE. IT WAS A LESSON IN RESILIENCE NOT LOST ON HIS ONLY DAUGHTER. BUILT AROUND ACADIA UNIVERSITY, WOLFVILLE WAS THEN AS IT IS TODAY, A BUSTLING PROSPEROUS COMMUNITY FILLED WITH STUDENTS, OLD MONEY AND A DEFINED SOCIAL STRUCTURE. NORVEL HAD BEEN DABBLING IN THE STOCK MARKET. AND IN WOLFVILLE, HE TURNED IT INTO A BUSINESS. THE FAMILY FLOURISHED. NORVEL INDULGED MONA, WHO BY ADOLESCENCE WAS USED TO SAYING WHAT SHE THOUGHT, AND GETTING WHAT SHE WANTED. IN 1914, WAR BROKE OUT. [CANNON EXPLOSION]. AND LIKE MANY OTHERS, THE PARSONS MEN LEFT WOLFVILLE FOR THE ADVENTURE OF WAR, LEAVING MONA, HER MOTHER AND THE REST OF THE TOWN TO KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING. ALTHOUGH MONA SATISFIED HER OWN SENSE OF PATRIOTISM BY KNITTING SOCKS FOR THE BOYS OVERSEAS, SHE REJECTED THE ROLE OF THE TRADITIONAL VICTORIAN WOMAN, WHICH SEEMED TO SATISFY HER MOTHER'S GENERATION. BY WAR'S END IN 1919, WHEN NORVEL AND HER BROTHERS RETURNED HOME, MONA HAD GROWN TALL AND GRACEFUL, WITH A WONDERFUL SULTRY VOICE. SHE CONTINUED TO STUDY ACTING, WHICH SHE'D TAKEN UP AT THE ACADIA LADIES SEMINARY. AND BY 1929 WITH SEVERAL COURSES AND PLAYS BEHIND HER, AND WITH NORVEL'S QUIET ENCOURAGEMENT, SHE DEFIED HER MOTHER'S WISHES AND SET OUT FOR NORTH AMERICA'S MOST EXCITING CITY. ANDRIA HILL: SHE WENT TO NEW YORK HOPING TO FIND A CAREER IN THEATRE. WELL, SHE ENDED UP AS A CHORUS GIRL WITH THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES, WHICH WAS NOT HER IDEA OF ACAREER IN SERIOUS THEATRE. THE TURNING POINT CAME FOR HER WHEN SHE WAS SUMMONED HOME IN 1930, JUST DAYS BEFORE HER 29th BIRTHDAY. HER MOTHER HAD HAD A STROKE. NARRATION: WITH THE CORNERSTONE OF THE FAMILY SERIOUSLY ILL, A DISTRAUGHT NORVEL HIRED A NEIGHBOUR WOMAN, ALMA, TO NURSE HIS WIFE. MONA RETURNED IMMEDIATELY TO WOLFVILLE TO HELP. BUT ON FEBRUARY THE 18th, 1930, ONE DAY AFTER MONA S 29th BIRTHDAY, MARY SUFFERED A SECOND AND FATAL STROKE. NOW THE INDEPENDENCE MONA HAD DEFIED HER MOTHER TO ACHIEVE WAS THRUST UPON HER. ANDRIA HILL: WHEN YOUR PARENT DIES LIKE THAT, YOU COME UP WITH AN AWFUL LOT OF UNRESOLVED ISSUES THAT SHE NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO RESOLVE. SHE HAS THIS SORT OF SENSE AND THOUGHT, IF THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANT, THEN I HAVE TO LOOK AT SOMETHING FAR MORE PRACTICAL. BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE I CAN DEPEND ONLY ON ME. NARRATION: IN 1930, THERE WAS A DEEPENING DEPRESSION. THERE WERE LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDEPENDENT WOMEN. NURSING WAS ONE. ANDRIA HILL: AND SO MONA WENT BACK TO THE STATES AND TOOK UP A NURSING CAREER. NARRATION: AND AFTER NURSE'S TRAINING AT JERSEY CITY MEDICAL CENTER, SHE LANDED A JOB WITH NOVA SCOTIAN EX-PATRIOT DR. ROSS FAULKNER IN HIS PARK AVENUE OFFICES. ANDRIA HILL: THERE SHE WAS. 1935, AN INDEPENDENT CAREER WOMAN IN ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING AND COSMOPOLITAN CITIES IN THE WORLD. AGAIN, SHE LANDED ON HER FEET. NARRATION: SHE SETTLED IN TO BUILD A CAREER, AND PERHAPS TO FIND A HUSBAND AMONG THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS THAT SHE WAS GETTING TO KNOW. WHEN HER BROTHER ROSS CALLED TO ASK A FAVOUR. WOULD MONA SHOW A BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AROUND NEW YORK. MONA AGREED. HIS NAME WAS WILLEM LEONHARDT. WILLEM WAS DUTCH AND RICH. A MILLIONNAIRE. HE WAS TRAVELING ACROSS AMERICA, REPRESENTING HIS FAMILY'S PLUMBING FIXTURE BUSINESS. WILLEM WAS CAPTIVATED. HE EXTENDED HIS NEW YORK VISIT AND PROPOSED MARRIAGE. MONA ACCEPTED. MONA KNEW THAT THIS WOULD BE WILLEM'S SECOND MARRIAGE. HE'D DIVORCED HIS FIRST WIFE AFTER SHE'D BOURNE A CHILD HE'D NOT FATHERED. WILLEM ALLOWED THE BOY TO CARRY THE LEONHARDT NAME. BUT AFTER A GENEROUS SETTLEMENT, HE DIDN'T EXPECT TO HEAR FROM THE BOY OR HIS MOTHER AGAIN. AFTER VISITING MONA'S FATHER AND HIS NEW WIFE, ALMA, IN WOLFVILLE, WILLEM AND MONA SAILED FOR HOLLAND IN AUGUST 1937. MONA HAD ENTERED A DIFFERENT WORLD,ALMOST REGAL. MONA RESPONDED TO THE ENDLESS ROUND OF INTRODUCTIONS, PARTIES AND RECEPTIONS WITH CHARM AND GRACE. SHE BEGAN LEARNING DUTCH. THAT HELPED TO WIN OVER WILLEM'S PARENTS AND HIS CLOSE FRIENDS, LIKE DR. PETE HOWTAPELL AND HIS MUCH YOUNGER WIFE, PAM. THEY WERE MARRIED, SURROUNDED BY A SMALL GROUP OF INTIMATES, INCLUDING WILLEM'S PARENTS AND MONA'S BROTHER ROSS AND HIS WIFE MARY. ANDRIA HILL: I SPOKE WITH WILLEM LEONHARDT'S NEPHEW, GUSTAV LEONHARDT. IN FACT, HIS FIRST IMPRESSION OF HER WAS MY GOD, MY UNCLE'S MARRYING AN AMERICAN FILM STAR. NARRATION: FOLLOWING THE RECEPTION, WILLEM TOOK HIS MOVIE STAR ON A TOUR OF EUROPE HOT SPOTS. THE HONEYMOON LASTED SIX MONTHS. WHEN THEY RETURNED, THEY PICKED OUT A PIECE OF LAND IN LAREN, A COMMUNITY ABOUT HALF AN HOUR FROM AMSTERDAM, CLOSE TO WILLEM'S PARENTS. THEY BUILT A HOME. THEY CALLED IT INGLESIDE. MONA'S LOVE OF MUSIC INSPIRED WILLEM TO BUY HER A CUSTOM-MADE OAK AUGUST F RSTER PIANO. SHE GAVE IT PRIDE OF PLACE IN THE SOLARIUM OVERLOOKING THE GARDEN. THE YOUNG LEONHARDTS WERE SETTLING IN TO INGLESIDE. IT WAS 1938. THEY HIRED HOUSE STAFF TO COOK, CLEAN AND HELP WITH THE GARDENS. WILLEM COMMUTED TO AMSTERDAM IN A SUCCESSION OF EXPENSIVE CARS. IN THE EVENING, THE HOUSE BECAME A STAGE, MONA PLAYING THE GRACIOUS HOSTESS. BY 1940,WILLEM'S STATUS, COMBINED WITH MONA'S VIBRANT PERSONALITY, HAD BECOME THE TALK OF THE TOWN. THE STAGE WAS SET FOR MONA'S DEFINING ROLE. HANK VANDERWALL: WHEN THE INVASION HAPPENED, IT WAS ABOUT FIVE OR SIX O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING WHEN MY FATHER WOKE ME UP. NARRATION: HANK VANDERWALL WAS A TEENAGER WHEN HE WAS AWAKENED TO WATCH HIS COUNTRY CHANGE HANDS. THE DUTCH FOUGHT BACK BRAVELY. BUT FIVE DAYS LATER, IT WAS OVER. PEACEFUL HOLLAND WAS OCCUPIED. HANK VANDERWALL: HOLLAND WAS TRYING TO DEFEND THE COAST. FIGURED THE PROBLEM WOULD COME FROM ENGLAND HERSELF. [CHUCKLE]. WELL, THE BORDERLINE BETWEEN GERMANY WHICH WAS PROBABLY A PIECE OF BARBED WIRE. NARRATION: HANS deVRIES IS AN ACKNOWLEDGED EXPERT, SPECIALIZING IN WAR HISTORY. HANS deVRIES: IT WASN'T TO MUCH A BLACK AND WHITE CHANGE IN SOCIETY. FOR MANY PEOPLE, LIFE JUST WENT ON. IT DEPENDED WHERE YOU LIVED AND WHO YOU WERE. THEY TRIED TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES, THE GERMANS, IN THIS SALAMI TECHNIQUE, YOU KNOW. THEY SLICED THEMSELVES IN.■ HANK VANDERWALL: THE FIRST YEARS, THE OCCUPATION WASN'T TOO BAD, YOU KNOW. THEY SORT OF PUSSY-FOOTED THEIR WAY IN. HANS deVRIES: IN SEPTEMBER 41 IT'S ANOTHER STORY. IT'S A DIFFERENT PICTURE. THEN THINGS ARE REALLY GOING ON. THE OCCUPIER AS SUCH, DROPPED ITS MASK. HANK VANDERWALL: THEIR COMPLETE FREEDOM WAS GONE. AFTER A FEW WEEKS IT STARTED, YOU GOT COUPONS. YOU COULDN'T BUY WHAT YOU WANTED. YOU HAD TO BE HOME AT NINE O'CLOCK. YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A CURFEW. IT WAS TERRIBLE. HANS deVRIES: IT WAS REALLY A HARSH OCCUPATIONAL REGIME. HANK VANDERWALL: WELL, I THINK THAT MOST DUTCH PEOPLE, IF THEY SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING, AND A LOT OF THEM DID AGAINST THE GERMANS, THEY WOULD DO IT. NARRATION: QUIETLY WORKING FROM HIS AMSTERDAM OFFICES, WILLEM HELPED WITH THE LOGISTICS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT NEEDED TO PROTECT JEWS AND OTHERS PERSECUTED BY THE NAZIS. AT HOME, PATRIOTIC MONA, OFFENDED BY THE NEW REGIME, WANTED TO DO MORE. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT, THEN A YOUNG LOGISTICS OFFICER, WAS IN A PRIME POSITION TO ANALYZE THE NEEDS OF ALLIED FORCES. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: WELL, ALLIED AIRCRAFT WERE FLYING FROM BASES IN YORKSHIRE AND NORTHERN ENGLAND. AND THEY WOULDN'T BE FLYING ACROSS SOUTHERN ENGLAND. THEY'D BE FLYING ACROSS THE NORTH SEA, RIGHT INTO HOLLAND ON THEIR WAY TO TARGETS IN GERMANY. IN ALL LIKELIHOOD THEY'D BE IN TROUBLE ON THE WAY BACKAFTER HAVING CARRIED OUT THEIR MISSIONS. AND THEY'D COME DOWN OVER HOLLAND. NARRATION: FEELING WELL PROTECTED BY THEIR INFLUENTIAL POSITION, MONA AND WILLEM WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO ATTEMPT THE REPATRIATION OF DOWNED ALLIED AIRMEN. INEXPERIENCED BUT ENTHUSIASTIC, THEY BEGAN WITH MODIFICATIONS TO INGLESIDE. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: THEY HAD A SECRET COMPARTMENT ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE HOUSE. AND THE AIRMEN WERE LODGED IN THERE UNTIL THE SIGNAL CAME THAT THEY COULD MOVE THEM TO THE NEXT SAFE HOUSE. NARRATION: EARLY RESISTANCE UNITS, OR CELLS, CONSISTED OF SMALL GROUPS OF TRUSTED FRIENDS. FOUND MOSTLY BY FARMERS LIKE BERNARD BESSELINK, DOWNED AIRMEN WERE HIDDEN BY THE LEONHARDT CELL UNTIL THEY COULD ARRANGE OVERLAND TRANSPORTATION TO LEIDEN. IN LEIDEN, A DIFFERENT CELL MOVED THE AIRMEN BY CANAL BOAT TO WAITING BRITISH SUBMARINES. UNBEKNOWNST TO THE LEONHARDTS, THE LEIDEN CELL NOW CONTAINED A NAZI INFORMER. NARRATION: INGLESIDE HAD BEEN USED ONLY FOUR TIMES BEFORE THE ESTABLISHED ESCAPE ROUTE TO THE COAST WAS INFILTRATED BY THE NAZIS. IT WAS NOW A TRAP WAITING TO BE SPRUNG. IN SEPTEMBER, WILLEM AND MONA ATTENDED A DINNER PARTY AT THIS AMSTERDAM HOME OF THEIR FRIEND AND FELLOW CONSPIRATOR, DIRK BRAUER. WHEN THEY LEFT, THEY TOOK TWO ALLIED AIRMEN WITH THEM. RICHARD PAPE AND WILLIAM MOIR. WHEN PAPE AND MOIR ARRIVED IN LEIDEN, THEY TRIGGERED THE NAZI TRAP. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: SOMEONE SQUEALED. NARRATION: THE TRAP HAD BEEN CAREFULLY SET BY THE NAZIS, AND IT LED ALL THE WAY BACK TO INGLESIDE. ANDRIA HILL: AND THEN SUDDENLY, WITHOUT WARNING, THE GESTAPO SWEPT IN, STARTED PICKING UP OTHER PEOPLE, IN THE NETWORK, LIKE BERNARD BESSELINK. NARRATION: WHEN BERNARD BESSELINK WAS ARRESTED AND EXECUTED, MONA AND WILLEM WERE FACED WITH A DECISION. TO RUN WOULD BE TO ADMIT THEIR GUILT. BELIEVING THAT ONLY THE MALE MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION WERE TARGETED, THEY DECIDED ON A COMPROMISE. WILLEM WOULD GO INTO HIDING. MONA, THE ACTRESS, WOULD STAY HOME AND TELL ANYONE WHO ASKED THAT HER HUSBAND WAS SIMPLY AWAY ON ONE OF HIS FREQUENT FISHING TRIPS. WILLEM LEFT. MONA PREPARED TO RECEIVE GUESTS. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: AND THE GESTAPO CAME VISITING. NARRATION: FEIGNING CURIOSITY ABOUT WHAT BUSINESS MIGHT HAVE BROUGHT THEM TO HER HOME, SHE OFFERED THEM DRINKS AND CIGARS AND PLAYED THE ROLE OF THE GRACIOUS HOSTESS. THE GESTAPO WOULD HAVE NONE OF IT. MONA WAS USHERED TO A WAITING STAFF CAR AND WHISKED AWAY TO WETERINGSCHANE PRISON IN AMSTERDAM. TODAY THERE'S A CASINO ON THE SITE OF THE FORMER WETERINGSCHANE PRISON. ALTHOUGH PART OF THE PRISON WALL STILL STANDS AND THERE'S A SMALL PLAQUE COMMEMORATING PAST SUFFERINGS, MOST CAFE-GOERS ARE UNAWARE OF THE LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLES PLAYED OUT BEHIND THESE WALLS. THE GESTAPO WAS LOOKING FOR WILLEM. MONA STUCK TO THE GONE FISHING STORY. THEY HELD HER FOR THREE MONTHS. ON THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER THE 21st, THE NAZIS CAUGHT UP WITH WILLEM. MONA WAS NOW DISPENSABLE. ANDRIA HILL: AT EIGHT O'CLOCK ON THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 22nd, THE CELL DOORS OPENED. SHE WAS TOLD TO GET DRESSED. AND WHEN SHE ASKED WHAT WAS GOING ON, THEY TOLD HER SHE WAS GOING TO TRIAL. HANS deVRIES: HER CASE WAS TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY BY THE GERMANS. SHE WAS TRIED BEFORE A MILITARY COURT. NO WOMEN, OR HARDLY ANY WOMEN HAD BEEN CONVICTED BEFORE A MILITARY COURT, AND CERTAINLY NOT IN 41. ANDRIA HILL: AND THEY DROVE HER TO THE CARLTON HOTEL ON THE VIJZELSTRAAT IN AMSTERDAM. AND SHE FOUND HERSELF USHERED INTO ONE OF THE BALLROOMS WHERE SHE HAD SPENT SO MANY HAPPY HOURS. THEY'D HAD DINNER THERE. THEY'D DANCED WITH FRIENDS. NARRATION: THE TRIAL WAS CONDUCTED IN GERMAN, WHICH MONA DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WELL. SO SHE CONCENTRATED ON REMAINING CALM. TOWARD THE END, SHE WAS SHAKEN WHEN SHE RECOGNIZED THAT SHE HAD BEEN CONDEMNED TO DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD. DETERMINED NOT TO WAVER OR FAINT, SHE HELD HERSELF ERECT AND WITH DIGNITY, ACCEPTED HER SENTENCE. ANDRIA HILL: SHE SIMPLY PUT HER HEELS TOGETHER, BOWED SLIGHTLY AND SAID GUTEN MORGEN MEINE HERREN, AND TURNED TO BE LED FROM THE COURTROOM. THE JUDGE FOLLOWED HER, TOOK HER HAND, SHOOK IT AND SAID THAT SHE WAS A REMARKABLE WOMAN. AND THAT SHE COULD APPEAL THE SENTENCE TO GENERAL DER FLIEGER FRANZ CHRISTIANSEN, WHO WAS THE HIGHEST RANKING NAZI GENERAL IN HOLLAND. HANS deVRIES: CHRISTIANSEN CAN BE DESCRIBED AS QUITE A TOUGH CHARACTER. ANDRIA HILL: BECAUSE OF HIS POSITION, AND BECAUSE OF HER POSITION IN SOCIETY, THEY HAD FRIENDS IN COMMON. SO, APPARENTLY HER APPEAL CONSISTED OF SAYING TO HIM, IF THIS WORLD WERE STILL THE SAME PLACE, WE WOULD POSSIBLY GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER, MAYBE EVEN LIKE ONE ANOTHER. AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS INSANITY. HANS deVRIES: I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT HE REJECTED MOST CASES. ANDRIA HILL : BUT WORD CAME IN EARLY JANUARY THAT HER SENTENCE HAD BEEN COMMUTED TO LIFE IN PRISONS. AND ON THE 17th OF JANUARY, 1942, SHE WAS TRANSPORTED BY TRAIN TO THE ANRATH PENITENTIARY IN KREFELD, IN THE GERMAN RHINELAND. NARRATION: ANRATH WAS ONLY THE FIRST OF MANY PRISONS TO WHICH MONA WOULD BE TAKEN OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. IN EACH PRISON MONA WAS PUT TO WORK. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, SHE SABOTAGED THAT WORK. KNITTING SOCKS FOR THE GERMAN ARMY, THE FORMER CAMPFIRE GIRL TURNED OUT PAIR AFTER PAIR WITH A WELL-DISGUISED BLISTERING KNOT IMBEDDED IN THE SOLE. DESPITE HER BEST EFFORTS, SHE WAS FOUND OUT. SHE WAS MOVED TO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AT VECHTA PRISON, WHERE SHE MET THE THEN 22 YEAR-OLD DUTCH BARONESS, WENDELIEN van HOLTHE. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: WELL, IT WAS VERY CROWDED, TO BEGIN WITH. AND THE PRISON WE WERE THEN IN, WHERE WE MET, WHICH WAS ABOUT THE SEVENTH PLACE WHERE I WAS. AND FOR HER IT WAS PROBABLY THE TENTH. THEY USED TO MOVE YOU AROUND. THE CONDITIONS IN GERMANY IN THE WINTER OF 44 WERE VERY, VERY BAD. NARRATION: SINCE HER ARREST AS A MEMBER OF THE STUDENT RESISTANCE MOVEMENT IN ARNHEIM, WENDELIEN HAD REPEATEDLY ATTEMPTED TO ESCAPE. NOW SHE WAS KEPT IN ISOLATION ON THE COLD TOP FLOOR OF VECHTA. MONA'S NEW JOB WAS CLEANING THE KITCHEN. ONE EVENING, SHE MANAGED TO SLIP HALF A POTATO TO WENDELIEN. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: WE WERE ALL VERY HUNGRY, TO BEGIN WITH. BUT WE WERE ALL SUPPOSED TO PEEL POTATOES. AND I WASN'T ALLOWED TO WORK. I WASN'T ALLOWED TO COME DOWN. I WAS IN SOLITARY UPSTAIRS. AND MONA HAD AN APRON WITH A POCKET. SHE SMUGGLED THOSE POTATOES UP TO ME. NARRATION: IT CEMENTED THE FRIENDSHIP, AND MONA BECAME PART OF WENDELIEN'S NEW ESCAPE PLAN. THEY SET TO WORK. NARRATION: WHEN BIOGRAPHER ANDRIA HILL VISITED VECHTA, SHE FOUND IT LITTLE CHANGED SINCE MONA AND WENDELIEN MADE THEIR ESCAPE PLANS IN 1944. ANDRIA HILL: IT WAS AS THOUGH THE YEARS FELL AWAY. I COULD SEE THE CATTLE CARS COMING IN, PULLING UP TO THE TRAIN STATION. AND THOSE WOMEN BEING MARCHED IN, NOT KNOWING IF THEY WERE GOING TO COME OUT AGAIN. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: AND WE ALL TALKED, OF COURSE. AND WE EXCHANGED RECIPES, WHICH WAS A GREAT THING IN THE CAMPS, BECAUSE EVERYBODY WAS VERY HUNGRY. MONA WAS FOND OF DELICIOUS RECIPES. ALSO, SHE HAD A GREAT REPERTOIRE OF SONGS. SO SHE HAD NAUGHTY SONGS AND HAPPY SONGS, OR WHATEVER. NARRATION: HAPPY SONGS LIFTED SPIRITS AT VECHTA. BUT MONA HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO WILLEM. IF HE TOO HAD AVOIDED EXECUTION, COULD HE SURVIVE IMPRISONMENT? WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: AND SHE WAS VERY WORRIED, OF COURSE, FOR HIM. NARRATION: SUFFERING FROM THE COLD, MONA AND WENDELIEN ASKED THE PRISON DIRECTRESS FOR EXTRA CLOTHING. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: SHE HAD ALLOWED US TO TAKE SWEATERS AND SHOES. SO WE HAD A LITTLE PROTECTION AGAINST THE COLD, WHICH WAS VERY DECENT OF HER. NARRATION: THE CLOTHING WOULD ALSO DISGUISE PRISON GARB DURING THEIR PLANNED ESCAPE. IN EARLY 1945, THE ALLIES WERE ON THE MOVE. THEY WERE BOMBING GERMAN-HELD INSTALLATIONS, INCLUDING SMALL AIRFIELDS. AND VECHTA HAD ONE. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: THERE WAS A WOMEN'S PRISON AND A MAN'S PRISON, RIGHT ON THE BORDER OF A SMALL AIRFIELD.■ ■ NARRATION: THE PRISONER'S DAY HAD JUST STARTED AT VECHTA WHEN THE ATTACK BEGAN. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: THAT DAY, I WAS ALLOWED DOWN FOR SOME REASON. NARRATION: THE WOMEN WATCHED IN HORROR AS A BOMB CLUSTER FELL DIRECTLY ON THE MEN'S PRISON, KILLING ALL THE INMATES. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: SUDDENLY WE SAW THAT BIG BUILDING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLACE GOING UP IN FLAMES. AND THIS DIRECTRESS OPENED THE DOOR TO THE OUTSIDE. NARRATION: FEARING A SIMILAR FATE FOR HER CHARGES, THE DIRECTRESS HOPED THAT THE WOMEN COULD TAKE COVEROUTSIDE THE PRISON. AND SINCE IT WAS SURROUNDED BY GUARD POSTS, THE WOMEN COULD EASILY BE ROUNDED UP AFTER THE RAID. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: NOBODY REACTED. ALL THESE GERMAN WOMEN JUST THREW THEMSELVES ON THE FLOOR, SHOUTING ICH WILL NICHT STERBEN . I DON'T WANT TO DIE, THAT SORT OF THING. SO MONA AND I, WHO HAD BEEN TALKING A LOT OF ALL OUR POSSIBILITIES, WHENEVER WE COULD, WE WOULD EVADE TOGETHER. WE TOOK EACH OTHER BY THE HAND. WE WENT OUT. NOBODY FOLLOWED US. ALL THESE GUARDS WERE ABSOLUTELY IMPRESSED BY ALL THE BOMBS AND THINGS AND WHAT'S GOING ON OUTSIDE. AND WE JUST RAN ALONG THE AIRFIELD. NARRATION: FIGHTING FATIGUE, AND DRIVEN BY FEARS OF RECAPTURE, THEY KEPT GOING ALL DAY WITHOUT FOOD. AND WITH ONLY THE WATER THEY COULD FIND IN STREAMS AND POOLS THAT THEY PASSED. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: SO ON AND ON AND ON, WE RAN. NARRATION: AS EVENING FELL, THEY HEADED TOWARD LIGHTS THEY COULD SEE AHEAD. IT WAS A SMALL FARM ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF CLOPPENBURG. THE WOMEN HAD TRAVELED EIGHTEEN KILOMETERS. THEY FOUND A BARN SEPARATE FROM THE HOUSE AND SETTLED IN FOR THE NIGHT. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: OF COURSE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GERMANS. WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE AN ENGLISH WOMAN AND A DUTCH GIRL EVADING FROM PRISON. SO MY GERMAN HAPPENED TO BE QUITE GOOD. BUT MONA HAD TO ABSOLUTELY KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT. SO WE HAD TO PRETEND THAT SHE WAS A LITTLE GA-GA, YOU KNOW. A LITTLE ADDLED. WHICH SHE WAS VERY GOOD AT, BECAUSE SHE WAS AN ACTRESS. SHE HAD TRAINED AS AN ACTRESS. SHE WAS FANTASTIC. ANDRIA HILL: TO POSE AS A MENTALLY CHALLENGED WOMAN WITH A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT FOR THREE WEEKS, WHETHER YOU'RE AWAKE OR WHETHER YOU'RE ASLEEP, ALWAYS AFRAID THAT YOU RE GOING TO LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. THAT YOU ARE GOING TO TALK IN YOUR SLEEP. INCREDIBLE PRESSURE. I MEAN, THAT IS THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME. NARRATION: THE NEXT MORNING, DRESSED IN THEIR EXTRA CLOTHING, THEY SET OUT TO TEST THEIR ACT ON THE UNSUSPECTING FARMER. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: THEY WERE SORRY FOR HER CONDITION. THEY WERE SORRY FOR ME. AND SHE PLAYED THAT ACT SO NATURALLY THAT EVEN I THOUGHT SHE'S NOT QUITE WELL IN THE HEAD, YOU KNOW. NARRATION: BY USING THEIR DISGUISES AND OFFERING TO DO FARM CHORES, IN TWO WEEKS MONA AND WENDELIEN WORKED THEIR WAY TO RHEDA, NEAR THE DUTCH BORDER. HERE THEY BEGAN TO FIND SYMPATHIZERS. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: WE GOT TO THE BURGERMEISTER, THE MAYOR OF THE TINY VILLAGE. AND HE GAVE US FALSE PAPERS. WELL, THIS WAS VERY GOOD OF HIM. NARRATION: THE EXHAUSTED WOMEN WERE NOW JUST AHEAD OF THE ALLIED ADVANCE. GOING ON WOULD BE DANGEROUS. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: BECAUSE THE FRONT WAS VERY NEAR. FIRST IT WAS THE POLISH INFANTRY. AND THEN BEHIND THAT CAME THE CANADIAN ARTILLERY. NARRATION: THE SYMPATHETIC BURGERMEISTER FOUND THEM SAFE BILLETS, BUT NOT TOGETHER. WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: WE DIDN'T SEE EACH OTHER THEN, BECAUSE I WAS ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF AWAY FROM HER. AND HERE WAS ALL THIS SHOOTING GOING ON. NARRATION: IN THE WAKE OF THE ALLIED ADVANCE, MONA LIKE HUNDREDS OF OTHER REFUGEES, MANY OF THEM WOMEN, SET OUT TO WALK BACK HOME. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: BATTALION COMMANDERS WERE VERY CAREFUL, BECAUSE THEY WERE AFRAID THAT SOME OF THEM MIGHT BE GERMAN SPIES. AND NO DOUBT SOME OF THEM WERE. ANDRIA HILL: THE NAZIS WERE USING UNDERGROUND SUBVERSIVE MEANS TO STEM THE ADVANCE, PARTICULARLY USING WOMEN TO STEAL WEAPONS, STEAL RATIONS, KILL PEOPLE IF THEY HAD TO. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED WITH MONA. SHE CROSSED INTO THE CANADIAN TERRITORY. AND THEY WERE VERY SUSPICIOUS OF HER CREDENTIALS. NARRATION: THE SOLDIERS DIDN'T BELIEVE MONA S INCREDIBLE STORY. SHE WAS QUESTIONED AT A FIELD COURT. IT BEGAN TO LOOK AS THOUGH MONA MIGHT BE DETAINED, PERHAPS EVEN IMPRISONED AGAIN. THIS TIME AS A GERMAN SPY. NARRATION: THE NORTH NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLANDERS HAVE BEEN HEADQUARTERED IN THE AMHERST ARMORIES SINCE 1914. THEY STILL WEAR THE DISTINCTIVE BALMORAL HEADDRESS. AND THEIR VETERANS STILL TURN UP TO HELP RAISE THE FLAG. IN 1945, THE NORTH NOVIES WERE PART OF THE CANADIAN ARMY PUSHING THROUGH HOLLAND INTO GERMANY. NOW A SUSPECTED GERMAN SPY, MONA WAS QUESTIONED BY A SUCCESSION OF SKEPTICAL SOLDIERS. SHE WAS ALMOST DESPERATE WHEN YET ANOTHER SOLDIER APPROACHED. ANDRIA HILL: SHE SAID, I'M A CANADIAN. AND HE SAID, IF YOU ARE A CANADIAN, WHERE ARE YOU FROM? AND SHE SAID, MY NAME IS MONA PARSONS. I'M FROM A LITTLE TINY VILLAGE IN NOVA SCOTIA CALLED WOLFVILLE. AND APPARENTLY HE NEARLY DROPPED THE BOX HE WAS HOLDING. HE SAID, DEAR GOD, MY NAME IS CLARENCE LEONARD. I'M FROM HALIFAX. AND YOU'VE JUST ENCOUNTERED THE NORTH NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLANDERS. [BAGPIPES]. NARRATION: THE UNIT SURGEON WAS KELLY MacLEAN, WITH WHOM MONA HAD SHARED THE ACADIA STAGE. THERE WERE OTHER FRIENDS IN THE UNIT, INCLUDING MAJOR GENERAL HARRY FOSTER, AN ANNAPOLIS VALLEY SCHOOL CHUM. HER CHANCE MEETING WITH THE NORTH NOVIES MEANT THAT MONA WAS FINALLY FREE. HER INSPIRATIONAL STORY GOT HER A LIFT TO INGLESIDE IN A COMMANDEERED STAFF CAR. ■■ WHEN ANDRIA HILL VISITED INGLESIDE■ 55 YEARS LATER, SHE FOUND THE HOUSE ABANDONED. ITS ONCE MANICURED GROUNDS OVERGROWN. ITS HISTORY LONG FORGOTTEN BY A SUCCESSION OF OWNERS. BUT WHEN MONA GOT HOME, SHE WAS WELCOMED BY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS, INCLUDING LEE van OLDENBURG, WHO HAD HIDDEN SOME OF MONA S POSSESSIONS DURING HER ABSENCE. THE HOUSE HAD BEEN USED AS A GERMAN ARMY HEADQUARTERS DURING THE INTERVENING YEARS, BUT HAD SURVIVED INTACT. AMONG THE OLD FRIENDS SHE'D MET WHILE WITH THE NORTH NOVIES WAS ROBBINS ELLIOTT, WHOSE FATHER WAS THE PARSON S FAMILY DOCTOR BACK HOME IN WOLFVILLE. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: LATER ON, SHE INVITED ME TO MEET HER BACK IN HER OLD HOME IN LAREN. BECAUSE I HAD SEEN HER ONLY RECENTLY IN GERMANY. SO IT WAS APPROPRIATE, I THINK, THAT WE WOULD MEET AGAIN. NARRATION: MONA ALSO ENTERTAINED HER ESCAPE PARTNER, WENDELIEN, WHO HAD MADE HER OWN WAY BACK HOME TO ARNHEIM. BUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO WILLEM? WENDELIEN van HOLTHE: SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE WAS, OR HOW HE WAS. DID HE SURVIVE? SHE DID'T KNOW. AND SHE KNEW HE WAS NOT VERY STRONG, PHYSICALLY. SO SHE WORRIED. NARRATION: WIEM HAD BEEN LIBERATED FROM A GERMAN CONCENTRATION CAMP IN DARMSTADT BY AMERICAN FORCES. BUT HE WAS EXTREMELY WEAK. WHILE STILL IN HIS TWENTIES, HE'D BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH POLYCYSTIC KIDNEYS, AN INHERITED DEGENERATIVE DISEASE. THREE YEARS OF HARSH PRISON LIFE HAD EXACERBATED THE CONDITION. IT WOULD TAKE ANOTHER TWO AND A HALF MONTHS OF HOSPITALIZATION BEFORE HE WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO ENDURE THE TRIP HOME. AWAITING WILLEM'S RETURN, MONA BEGAN TO RESTORE HER BELOVED GARDENS. THAT HAD A THERAPEUTIC EFFECT. AND FINALLY WILLEM GOT HOME. BUT HE NEVER WENT BACK TO THE FAMILY BUSINESS. HE SOLD HIS SHARES TO HIS BROTHER, USING THE MONEY TO TRAVEL WITH MONA BETWEEN BOUTS OF ILL-HEALTH AND HOSPITALIZATION. THEY WENT TO CANADA. MONA VISITED WITH HER FATHER AND ALMA AND FRIENDS. HER BROTHER ROSS ORGANIZED A TROUT FISHING TRIP, NOVA SCOTIA STYLE, FOR WILLEM. MONA HOPED THAT WILLEM WOULD DECIDE TO STAY IN CANADA. BUT WORSENING HEALTH MADE HIM RETURN TO THE DOCTORS AND CLINICS HE KNEW IN HOLLAND. MONA'S HEALTH HAD ALSO SUFFERED IN PRISON. SHE'D LONG BEEN AFFLICTED BY LUNG AILMENTS. NOW, COLDS AND BOUTS OF BRONCHITIS WERE GETTING MORE SEVERE. IN 1954, DURING ONE OF HER STAYS AT THE BIRCHER BENNER CLINIC IN SWITZERLAND, WILLEM BECAME SERIOUSLY ILL BACK HOME. PAM HOWTAPELL STEPPED IN TO ARRANGE HOUSE CARE FOR WILLEM. MONA CAME BACK AS SOON AS SHE COULD, BUT WILLEM S HEALTH DECLINED OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS UNTIL IN APRIL 1956, HIS DISEASED KIDNEYS NEAR COLLAPSE, AND IN CONSTANT PAIN, WILLEM LEONARDT DIED. WITH MONA, PETE PETAPELL AND BROTHER GEORG AT HIS SIDE. OVER THE PERIOD OF WILLEM'S LONG ILLNESS, MONA HAD PREPARED HERSELF FOR HIS LOSS. BUT SHE WAS NOT PREPARED FOR WHAT HAPPENED NEXT. IN 1954, DURING MONA S ABSENCE, WILLEM HAD CHANGED HIS WILL. HE HAD LEFT A PART OF HIS ESTATE TO PAM HOWTAPELL, WITH WHOM HE'D CARRIED ON A LONG AFFAIR. TO TOP THINGS OFF, WILLEM'S ESTRANGED SON, BERNARD, SHOWED UP CLAIMING HALF THE INHERITANCE. MONA WAS DEVASTATED. HER LAWYERS ENCOURAGED HER TO CONTEST THE WILL AND TO FIGHT BERNARD'S CLAIM. DISORIENTED BY WHAT THE WILL HAD REVEALED, SHE AGREED, AND BEGAN A LEGAL ACTION THAT OVER THE NEXT EIGHTEEN MONTHS WOULD DRAIN HER PHYSICAL AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES. WHEN SHE WAS FORCED TO SELL INGLESIDE TO PAY WILLEM S DEATH TAXES, SHE GATHERED UP WHAT SHE COULD, INCLUDING THE PIANO WILLEM HAD GIVEN HER, AND WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE INHERITANCE. SAYING THAT SHE WANTED TO SHAKE THE SOUR MOULD OF HOLLAND OFF HER SHOES, ON DECEMBER THE 8th, 1957, MONA SAID A FINAL GOOD-BYE TO OLD FRIENDS AND LEFT FOR CANADA. MONA ARRIVED IN HALIFAX, AND MOVED INTO THE LORD NELSON, THE CITY'S BEST HOTEL. SHE WAS NO LONGER RICH. BUT SHE WASN'T DESTITUTE. AND IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME SHE'D HAD TO START ALL OVER AGAIN. SHE MOVED INTO THIS APARTMENT AT 56 INGLIS STREET. HER FATHER, NORVEL, HAD DIED EIGHT YEARS EARLIER. MONA EXCHANGED LETTERS WITH BROTHER GWYNN IN PHILADELPHIA, AND VISITED ON OCCASION WITH BROTHER ROSS AND STEPMOTHER ALMA IN THE ANNAPOLIS VALLEY. IRONICALLY, THERE WAS AN OLD FRIEND MUCH CLOSER AT HAND. HER FORMER SCHOOL CHUM, MAJOR GENERAL HARRY FOSTER, RETIRED. ON A FINE JUNE DAY IN 1959, MONA AND HARRY WERE MARRIED IN A HALIFAX GARDEN. IT WAS HIS COUSIN, BILL WICKWIRE'S GARDEN. COUSIN BILL'S DAUGHTER, JILLIAN WICKWIRE-PULLEN, KNEW MONA WELL. JILLIAN WICKWIRE-PULLEN: WHEN SHE MARRIED HARRY, THEY LIVED IN VARIOUS PLACES IN TOWN AND IN CHESTER BASIN. THEY LIVED IN A PLACE CALLED LOBSTER POINT, WHICH WAS QUITE AN ISOLATED BUT LOVELY SPOT. AND I CAN REMEMBER GOING DOWN AND HAVING TEA OR DRINKS WITH THEM THERE. NARRATION: HARRY'S MAJOR GENERAL'S PENSION ALLOWED THE COUPLE TO LIVE COMFORTABLY. BUT IN THE EARLY SPRING OF 1964, THE COLD THAT HARRY COULDN'T SHAKE WAS DIAGNOSED AS THROAT CANCER. MONA, THE NURSE, DID WHAT SHE COULD. BUT IN AUGUST, FIVE YEARS AFTER THEIR MARRIAGE, HARRY PASSED AWAY. WITH HARRY'S DEATH, AND IN FAILING HEALTH HERSELF, MONA SAID IT WAS TIME TO GO HOME. NARRATION: MONA LOUISE PARSONS OF WOLFVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA, SENTENCED TO DEATH BY NAZIS FOR HELPING ALLIED FLIERS HAD AMAZINGLY FOUND HER WAY HOME. ANDRIA HILL: AND SHE DECIDED TO COME BACK TO WOLFVILLE. AND THERE WERE LETTERS TO WENDELIEN WHERE SHE SAYS, I CAME BACK HERE BECAUSE IT'S A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE COMMUNITY. THERE S THEATRE. THERE S CULTURE. I CAN TAKE A COURSE OR TWO AT THE UNIVERSITY. I HAVE A GOOD LIFE. I'M CONTENT. BUT THERE'S ALSO THE FAMILY PLOT IN WILLOWBANK CEMETERY. AND AT LEAST WHEN IT'S MY TURN TO GO, THEY WON'T HAVE TO CART ME FROM ANYWHERE. AND THAT'S A QUOTE. THEY WON'T HAVE TO CART ME. NARRATION: MONA SETTLED INTO WOLFVILLE IN AN APARTMENT ON MAIN STREET. SHE STAYED IN TOUCH BY LETTER WITH HER FORMER ESCAPE PARTNER, WENDELIEN. BUT FOR MOST PEOPLE, SHE WAS SIMPLY MONA PARSONS. ALWAYS ENTERTAINING. SOME WHAT ECCENTRIC. SHE ATTENDED THE THEATRE.SHE INVITED YOUNG PEOPLE TO PLAY HER PIANO AND EXCHANGE IDEAS. BUT BY THE EARLY 70s, HER HEALTH SERIOUSLY FAILED. DR. RON STEWART: SHE WAS ANOTHER PATIENT, UNTIL I LEARNED HER STORY. NARRATION: WHEN MONA GOT TOO SICK TO VISIT THE OFFICE, DR. RON STEWART MADE HOUSE CALLS. DR. RON STEWART: SHE WAS HAVING SMALL STROKES, AND WE WERE AFRAID THAT SHE WAS GOING TO FALL DOWN AND HAVE A STROKE WITH NOBODY FINDING HER FOR A FEW DAYS. SO SHE REALLY NEEDED MORE PERSONAL CARE THAT COULD BE GIVEN IN A NURSING HOME. NARRATION: TO PAY FOR THE EXTRA CARE, THROUGH A SERIES OF AUCTIONS, MONA BEGAN TO SELL OF HER HARD-WON POSSESSIONS, INCLUDING THE PIANO. DR. RON STEWART: THE PIANO WAS THERE. HER DISHES WERE ALL OUT, AND SHE HAD SEVERAL DAYS WHERE SHE WAS GOING TO SELL OFF ALL HER FINE WINE GLASSES, AND THESE DUTCH PORCELAINS AND THINGS THAT SHE HAD. NARRATION: SINCE WOLFVILLE RESIDENT, CLAUDIA TUGWELL BOUGHT THE BEAUTIFUL OAK PIANO FOR HER CHILDREN'S LESSONS, ITS STORY AND THAT OF ITS ORIGINAL OWNER HAVE EMERGED. CLAUDIA TUGWELL: THIS PIANO WAS USED BY GERMAN OFFICERS. AND FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND IS THAT THEY WOULD PLAY THE PIANO. SOMEBODY WOULD PLAY THE PIANO. THEY WOULD BE SINGING. THEY WOULD BE DRINKING. THE MARKS FROM THEIR GLASSES ARE LEFT ON THE PIANO ON THE WOOD. SO WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT MONA WHEN SHE RETURNED AFTER BEING IMPRISONED, AND THE PIANO WAS STILL THERE, HER FRIENDS WERE HORRIFIED AT THE CONDITION OF IT AND SAID OH, WE LL GET THIS PIANO CLEANED FOR YOU. AND WE LL GET IT ALL REFINISHED, MONA, THE WAY THAT IT WAS IN THE BEAUTIFUL CONDITION THAT YOU HAD IT. AND SHE SAID, OH NO. I DON T WANT THAT. I WANT TO KEEP IT AS IT IS, BECAUSE IT WILL REMIND ME OF ALL THE SCARS THAT I HAVE IN MY OWN LIFE FROM THIS TIME. NARRATION: ALTHOUGH SHE NOW HAD GOOD USE FOR THE MONEY HER POSSESSIONS WOULD BRING, SHE REMAINED GENEROUS TO FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. JILLIAN WICKWIRE-PULLEN: AND I DO REMEMBER VISITING HER IN WOLFVILLE. MY HUSBAND, HUGH, WAS WITH ME, AND SHE CALLED US IN AND SAID NOW LOOK, I WANT YOU TO TAKE YOUR PICK OF A PIECE OF SILVER. AND WE CHOSE TWELVE RATHER LOVELY OYSTER FORKS. AND THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE LAST TIME THAT I SAW MONA. NARRATION: SHE WAS A SURVIVOR IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. BUT ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER THE 28th, 1976, MONA LOUISE PARSONS LEONHARDT FOSTER SURRENDERED, PROBABLY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE. HER CONTRIBUTION TO THE ALLIED WAR EFFORT HAD BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IN A COMMENDATION FROM AIR CHIEF MARSHALL TEDDER. AND BY UNITED STATES PRESIDENT, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER. AND YET HER EPITAPH OFFERS NO HINT OF HER STORY. HOWEVER, JUST BEHIND THE DIKE THAT PROTECTS WOLFVILLE FROM THE 40 FOOT BAY OF FUNDY TIDES, YOU LL FIND ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH NUMBER 74. IN MONA PARSONS, THE WAR VETERANS OF BRANCH 74 SEE A LEGITIMATE HERO WHO PROVIDES A FOCUS, A JUSTIFICATION OF THEIR OWN LIVES AND SACRIFICES. CAPTAIN ROBBINS ELLIOTT: HERE'S TO MONA PARSONS. A BRAVE AND BEAUTIFUL LADY. CHEERS! por/çO
