A Woman Ahead of Her Time

Mae Ness Ryan was born and raised in North DakoMae Ness Ryan was born and raised in North Dakota. The early loss of her father and the Great Depression were problems which she needed to overcome. While she was still attending college, the U.S. entered into WWII which provided an opportunity to demonstrate her spirit, determination and capabilities. She obtained a position with the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C. and continued to show the same spirit and determination by obtaining a transfer to the OSS - Office of Strategic Services. This was America's first organized intelligence agency, and was the forerunner of the CIA. While only a small percentage of these women went overseas during the war, Mae saw service in Italy and then transferred to Germany to provide finance and administrative support for the OSS personnel at the Nuremberg Trials where she was surely an Eyewitness to History. After the sentencing of the Chief Nazi Defendants, she returned to the U.S. and when OSS disbanded and CIA was formed in 1947, she returned again to Washington D.C. for a position in Finance with CIA which included service in Japan during the Korean War, and back to Germany during the Cold War. She resigned from CIA to wed an Air Force Officer who was stationed in England. They served at bases in Texas, State of Washington, and the American Embassy in Germany. ta. The early loss of her father and the Great Depression were problems which she needed to overcome. While she was still attending college, the US entered into WWII which provided an opportunity to demonstrate her spirit, determination and capabilities. She obtained a position with the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C. and continued to show the same spirit and determination by obtaining a transfer to the OSS - Office of Strategic Services. This was America's first organized intelligence agency, and was the forerunner of the CIA. While only a small percentage of these women went overseas during the war, Mae saw service in Italy and then transferred to Germany to provide finance and administrative support for the OSS personnel at the Nuremberg Trials where she was surely an Eyewitness to History. After the sentencing of the Chief Nazi Defendants, she returned to the US and when OSS disbanded and CIA was formed in 1947, she returned again to Washington DC for a position in Finance with CIA which included service in Japan during the Korean War, and back to Germany during the Cold War. She resigned from CIA to wed an Air Force Officer who was stationed in England. They served at bases in Texas, State of Washington, and the American Embassy in Germany. Mae and her husband went into active retirement in 1972 in Tacoma, Washington and full retirement came in 1990 with a move to Melbourne, Florida where they current reside.