Born in 1917; Died 1990. McDonald B. Austin, codename “Gaspard”, was dropped as a member of OSS team Ammonia into Dordogne from Blida by the RAF to aid the resistance there. Records show they were successful.
Recruited by the Office of Strategic Services for clandestine operations, he received training for and became a Jedburgh. After initial training, his group sailed on the Queen Mary for England. There, they were formed into three-man teams to fight with the French Resistance forces. On his team, Team Ammonia, were Lt. Benton MacDonald Austin of Savannah, Ga., and Lt. Raymond LeCompte of France. From Algeria, they were to fly to southern France in the Perigord region in time to stop the advancement of the 2d SS Panzer division toward Normandy and D-Day. Due to weat her delays, they were twice sent back to Algeria but finally, on June 10, 1944, the plane dropped them from 800 feet onto a field near the town of Ste. Nathalene, France. For the next two weeks, the three men were hidden in a secret wall in the home of the Laquieze family. When the Germans left that area, the men began their mission of helping to train the local boys and older men in sabotage. Together, they were successful in delaying the Panzer's advance toward Normandy by several weeks. Then, with the French work at an end, the men were asked to volunteer for their next mission within the OSS. He retired as a Colonel.