Meet Juan Pujol García, aka “Garbo,” born Feb. 14, 1912, in Barcelona, Spain. He wasn’t some ordinary guy. What he was is the ultimate spy extraordinaire of World War II! Forget about your suave James Bond types, Garbo had a knack for turning ordinary information into mind-boggling tales that left the Axis powers scratching their heads.

Picture this, in Operation Fortitude, a plan of deception: the Allies unleashed a genius plan involving gigantic inflatable fake planes and tanks. Yep, you read that right! They inflated these massive decoys to fool the Germans about the D-Day invasion’s location.

But the real star of the show? Garbo! He concocted an army of imaginary agents and spun tales of make-believe troop movements that made the Germans believe D-Day was happening somewhere completely different. Talk about a grand illusion!

But hold on tight, because there’s more: Garbo had a double life to rival any Hollywood blockbuster. He had the Germans convinced he was a loyal Nazi agent, all while secretly being a British spy. Keeping that charade going took some seriously top-notch linguistic skills and a talent for deception that’d make Houdini proud.

Garbo’s contributions to the Allies were nothing short of legendary. His way with words and audacious spy antics earned him a spot in the hall of wartime heroes. His story is proof that when words meet espionage, history itself can take a thrilling twist!

Oh, one more thing: he faked his death for 36 years, but that is a story for another time…