Artist shares story of WWII teen who risked her life for her country

Greek-Italian artist Angelo Plessas first spotted Maria Zamanou-Mickelson in the neighborhood of Palaio Faliro a few years ago. Approaching 90, she was stoic but impressive with a fabulous wardrobe straight out of the 50s and accompanied by her dogs. She stood out and was something of a mystery to most of her neighbors.

"No one knew exactly what her story was but everyone had a theory," Plessas remembers. One summer day he helped her carry a watermelon and she invited him into her home. Entering the apartment, he was stunned: "I felt like I had entered another era where time had stood still," he recalls. Scattered around her apartment were photos and memorabilia of a truly cosmopolitan life: from the United States and Germany where she lived after the war, with her husband, an American in the military, from trips around the world. While he took in the surroundings, he noticed...