Hans Wynberg

Hans Wynberg was born on November 28, 1922 in Amsterdam, Holland. In 1939 Hans’s father sent Wynberg and his twin brother to the United States. The boys stayed with their father’s business partner and continued their education in Brooklyn Technical High School. In 1943 Wynberg joined the United States Army. At about the same time his father, mother and younger brother, who stayed in Holland were captured by the SS, and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. One day Wynberg was approached by an officer, who said: "We understand you speak German, Dutch and English. Would you like to help your country?" Without hesitation Hans responded: "Sure".
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency William J. Casey called Operation Greenup "by far the most successful of OSS operations mounted from Bari". The operation included three men: Mayer, Wynberg, and Franz Weber, a former Austrian Wehrmacht officer. Their task was to scout "the heavily fortified area of Austria's 'Alpine Redoubt'.
It was decided the men should be parachuted near Innsbruck, but all flat areas were occupied by the military, a small lake between two peaks that was frozen in February. It wasn't an easy place to fly to, especially in the winter conditions, but finally a pilot named Billings volunteered. "If they are crazy enough to jump there, I will be crazy enough to take them there." On February 26, 1945 the men jumped in the darkness. They found themselves at the ridge of a glacier at a 10,000 feet elevation. They found all but one container that was dropped with them. Unfortunately their skis were in that container. They had to walk down the slope in a waist-deep snow.
Eventually they reached Weber's family. With their help, Mayer posed as a German Army officer. He actually stayed in the officers' barracks in Innsbruck for several months. The information he collected was promptly radioed back by Wynberg.