Bernard E. Case
LST 972
U.S. Navy & U.S. Army (Ret.)
Cadillac, Mich.

Valiant Women
As we honor veterans, Maj. Gen. [David T.] Zabecki’s article [“The Limping Lady Spy,” Valor, Sept/Oct] on Virginia Hall was especially appropriate for Military History.

Zabecki may be unaware that four women were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in World War I: Jane Jeffery, a nurse with the American Red Cross, as well as three members of the Army Nurse Corps—Beatrice MacDonald, Helen Grace McClellend and Isabelle Stambaugh.

Thomas P. Jones
U.S. Army (Ret.)
Indianapolis, Ind.

In addition to Hall, another woman received the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism during World War II, and like Hall she served with the Office of Strategic Services. Her name was Jeannette Guyot, and she was a lieutenant in the French army. According to her citation:

She parachuted into enemy-occupied France as a mem-ber of the Pathfinder mission, charged with finding parachuting fields, reception committees, safe houses and local informants….As the principal liaison of the mission, she traveled widely over Northern France…[and] undertook the most dangerous assignments, such as reporting on Gestapo activities and verifying reports of the arrest and execution of any agents.

Charles P. McDowell
Reva, Va.

Don’t Know Beans
While it may be theoretically possible to shoot beans out of a LeMat revolver [“J.E.B. Stuart’s Buckshot Beans,” by Elwood H. Smith, Sept/Oct], there are several errors that cannot be ignored. The main thing, besides being on the wrong side of Stuart’s famous plumed hat, only a pimp or a Vegas showgirl would wear a red plume. Stuart’s plume was black. His holster is backward, but thankfully at least on the correct side, but his sword has no scabbard! Last of all, the poor fellow holding the pot of beans has only one stripe on his chevron, and it is upside down. Unless he is in the Marine Corps or sewed it on in the dark, this is not indicative of any rank in the Confederate army.

Other than this, the horse is pretty good, and the Yankee is perfect. I like the way he is assuming the “position of the Union soldier” during and after most encounters in the western theater. Enjoyed the magazine. Keep up the good work.

David Gass
Villa Rica, Ga.

Correction
In his Nov/Dec article “What We Learned from the Battle of Carillon,” Thomas Fleming wrote that George III supported James Abercrombie’s generalship. George II was the supportive monarch. The author and editors regret the error.

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