I just felt deeply and strongly that the work we were doing was work that was worth doing.
We were helping our country; disguise was a form of protection.
In the 1990s, she met President George H.W.
Bush glanced at her, searching for a briefcase that carried her disguise.
Then, she told him she was wearing it.
Mendezs love story with the world of espionage began with a whirlwind romance in the mid-1960s.
Aged 20, she visited Germany to attend a friends wedding.
The two became engaged a year after they met.
One day, Goeser confessed he worked for the CIA.
Mendez understood that by saying I do, she would inevitably become entangled in his unlikely profession.
Sounded like the adventure of a lifetime, she confides in her book.
I wasnt wrong about that.
Jonna briefed President George H.W.
The famous rescue operation is depicted in theOscar-winning film Argo, where Tony is portrayed by Ben Affleck.
We put bugs in books.
I started shaking, she says.
I thought, He wants me to act like a girl, so I didnt.
The operation was successful and the most significant I was ever involved in.
In a competitive environment where women were a minority, Mendez had to push herself extra hard to succeed.
You have to be not as good as men areyou need to be better, she says.
The woman, now 79, lost her other half in 2019 after Tony suffered complications from Parkinsons disease.
To Mendez, the chance to employ her talent and resourcefulness for a noble cause felt almost supernatural.
That felt like a special power because we knew that there always was the opportunity to save the world.
People celebrated Mendezs career and contributions to her country
