Hilaire du Berrier

Hilaire du Berrier (November 1, 1906 – October 12, 2002) was a pioneer American pilot, barnstormer, and spy.

Hilaire du Berrier, left (1937)

Early life

Born as Hal du Berrier on November 1, 1906 in Flasher, North Dakota, he attended the Northwestern School of Journalism and, in Paris, the Institute of Political Science.[1]

He worked as a commercial artist in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 and later joined a flying circus. He then moved to France, where took the name Hilaire. In Paris, he learned in 1936 that the Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, was hiring mercenary pilots to fight against the Italian occupation and so in that year, he went to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Espionage

From 1936 to 1937, Berrier joined the Spanish Civil War on the side of the government but was arrested as a spy for the rebels.[2][3]

He worked for the Office of Strategic Services briefly, as an informant, in Shanghai after the Japanese surrender in 1945.

Later life

He worked as a journalist in Vietnam and wrote a strongly anti-communist article in the American Mercury in 1958.

He died on October 12, 2002 in Monaco.[4]

Publications

Articles

Books

Pamphlets

References
  1. "French Journalist Back From Vietnam To Address C of C". San Bernardino County Sun, Vol. 73, February 10, 1967, p. B2. Archived from the original. – via Newspapers.com
  2. James P. Lucier (January 4, 1999). "Hilaire du Berrier: Spy From North Dakota". Retrieved 2008-11-03. Hilaire du Berrier is a pioneer aviator, daredevil, adventurer, writer, monarchist and spy who has seen more of this century than most of the rest of us and experienced it more deeply. What is more, he still is at work, looking forward toward the millennium.
  3. "Hilaire du Berrier". Prairie Public (radio). Archived from the original on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  4. Jasper, William F. "Passing of a Patriot". The New American, November 18, 2002. Archived from the original.
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