Inconspicuous

Born in the U.S. to two then famous parents, Walter Rothwell's mother took him back to Europe as a young boy. His mother, an operatic diva, was lead in Aalban Berg's opera, Wozzeck; and, Wally played onstage as well. Then Hitler indirectly forced the disbanding of the opera, and the Rothwells relocated to Switzerland in the late 1930s. Wally came of age up amid active wartime events.

Drafted the same month World War II ended might seem fortuitous, but because of Private Rothwell's shrewd ability to speak four languages (German, French, Italian, English) fluently like a native, it enticed him into a world of strategic intelligence ...and, ultimately Cold War espionage. He was a spy. He earned rank as well as prestige as the go-to person for unearthing worthy information.

And, his role was indeed consequential within West Germany's confrontation with the Communist Party.