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For ex-spy Claire Phillips, fame was fleeting but her PTSD was not (Part 2 of 2)

For ex-spy Claire Phillips, fame was fleeting but her PTSD was not (Part 2 of 2)

Author: www.offbeatoregon.com (finn @ offbeatoregon.com) July 14, 2026 Duration: 9:06
Offbeat Oregon History podcast
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AFTER THE WAR, Claire Phillips was hailed as a hero. Even before she was back in North America, her hometown newspaper was singing her praises. Soon afterward, Reader’s Digest picked up the story and spread it nationwide. She wrote a memoir of her war activities, Manila Espionage, and it was published in 1947. The following year, at Fort Lewis, Gen. Mark Clark presented her with the Medal of Freedom, America’s highest award for a civilian. The accolades kept coming... until suddenly, one day, they didn't. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/23-09.high-pockets-the-spymaster-625.html)

The Offbeat Oregon History Podcast is a daily service from the Offbeat Oregon History newspaper column. Each weekday morning, a strange-but-true story from Oregon's history from the archives of the column is uploaded. An exploding whale, a few shockingly scary cults, a 19th-century serial killer, several very naughty ladies, a handful of solid-brass con artists and some of the dumbest bad guys in the history of the universe. Source citations are included with the text version on the Web site at https://offbeatoregon.com.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

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Iconic movies shot in Oregon, part 1: 1908-1952 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:50
As a place to go shoot pictures on location, Oregon has become pretty popular in the last few dozen years. But the Beaver State's contribution to early cinema, though more sparse, was surprisingly influential. (Clatsop,…
Getting trapped in ship’s wreckage saved mariner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:09
George May was in an impossible situation, trapped in the upside-down hull of his ship, waiting for death. But then the ship washed ashore, the tide receded, and he lived to tell the story of the wreck of the M/V Oshkosh…
Portland woman ran U.S. spy ring in World War II (Part 1 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:14
'High Pockets' was the nom de guerre of Claire Phillips, a gorgeous brunette Vaudeville girl from the faraway American town of Portland, Oregon ... a dancer of sultry dances, a singer of torchy cabaret songs, and a stage…
Bloody 1925 prison break ended badly for everyone involved (2 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:22
Warden Dalrymple, as mentioned before, had been given the job for political reasons, and he was paired up with J.V. Starrett as the state parole officer. Starrett was actually on the Ku Klux Klan’s payroll (he was a Klea…
Rampant Klan cronyism led to bloody 1925 prison break (1 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:35
IT WAS A TYPICAL balmy August evening at the Oregon State Penitentiary. The bell had rung for supper, so inmates were streaming out of their cells and heading toward the dining hall for the evening meal, as they always d…
Brutal ‘Oregon Boot’ made our state prison infamous [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:02
Named after the warden who invented it, the “Gardner Shackle” eventually caused serious musculoskeletal damage; many former inmates limped for the rest of their lives as a result of habitually wearing one. (Salem, Marion…
Meteorites that have fallen on the Beaver State (2 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:42
The Willamette Meteorite is the most famous heavenly body to end up in Oregon, but it’s far from the only one. Here are some of the others:... (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/23-07.stealing-the-will…

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