She located her uncle and learned that women were being trained as parachutists. Against her uncle's objections, she volunteered and got her wings in spring, 1943. In June, 1943, Jisy and five male operatives parachuted into Grenoble, France and worked with the Maquis in identifying targets for RAF bomb raids. She joined with the Maquis in guerilla raids on the occupying Nazi forces. Once, she narrowly escaped death when captured with a male operative driving a vegetable cart loaded with air-dropped ammunition. Her partner was able to kill their German captors, although the truckload of ammunition was lost as the duo escaped.
In August, 1944, Jisy was captured and tortured by the Gestapo in Auxerre, France. She refused to divulge any information about Maquis operatives sought by the Nazis. Scheduled for execution, she was rescued at the 11th hour by a Maquis raid.
In 1945, Jisy offered her services to the 101st Airborne Division. In a photo made by John Gabor in September, 1945, Jisy is seen with members of HQ/2 506th. John Gabor is at bottom left.
Mark Bando