“We Did Live With Danger”
After a war-scarred childhood, Denise Duesing has spent four decades keeping children safe.
Her mission: a baguette.
Flour was scarce during the German occupation of France in World War II. So when Denise Duesing heard that a bakery five miles away from her village had real bread, she volunteered to go on her bike and buy some for her family.
As 8-year-old Denise rode along the deserted country road, a German plane began circling overhead. Terrified, she pedaled faster. The plane landed in a field, and the pilot got out.
“I think from the air, he thought I was older,” she says. When the pilot realized Duesing was just a little girl, he got back in the plane and took off.