Elzbieta Zawacka | WWII secret courier, 99

Elzbieta Zawacka, 99, who crisscrossed Nazi-occupied Europe to carry messages between Poland's exiled government and its resistance forces during World War II, died Saturday in her hometown of Torun, Poland.

During the war, Ms. Zawacka was a member of the resistance Home Army and repeatedly risked her life crossing the borders of Nazi-occupied Poland on false documents to carry reports about the Nazi atrocities and the resistance to Poland's government-in-exile in London.

On one such trip, in early 1943, she traveled though Germany, France and Spain to Gibraltar, where she was airlifted to London.

In September of the same year, she was the first and only woman to be dropped by parachute into Poland, bringing orders and instructions for the Home Army. She also fought in the ill-fated Warsaw Uprising against the Germans.

In 1951, the communist authorities falsely accused Ms. Zawacka of espionage and treason. Tortured by the secret security forces, she was given a 10-year prison term, but was released in 1955.

For her bravery, President Lech Kaczynski promoted Ms. Zawacka to the rank of general in 2006. - AP