Chronicler:    
Interviewer:    
Location:        
Date:  		 Maurina Aldecoa Bowles
Daniel Chertudi
Boise, Idaho
22 August 2001

Maurina in 1999
Maurina was born in Boise, Idaho on 21 November 1913 to John Domingo Aldecoa and Maria Pagoaga Aldecoa.  The oldest of five children, she grew up in a house that is now on Idaho's historic homes register.  Her family spoke Basque at home, but Maurina had little difficulty learning English.

Maurina graduated from Boise High School in 1931 before going to the University of Idaho to earn her degree in education in 1935.  She taught for several years before applying for a job with the Office of Strategic Services (now the Central Intelligence Agency).  Maurina got the job and was shipped to the counterintelligence registry in London, England, a position she held during World War II.

She met her husband, a navigator for US Air Force, in London.  They were married in Norwich, Norfolk, England in June of 1945.  

Maurina makes her home in Boise and is proud of her Basque ancestry.  She is a member of the Boise Basque Center and enjoys going to the picnics, dinners, and other events.

 
Maurina Aldecoa Bowles (1999) Read the interview summary
Working for the Office of Strategic Services in London during WWII (1:05)

Meeting her husband in London (:52)                                                     

 First Communion (1920)

With siblings (1921)

Whole family (1932)

Basque Picnic (1934)

Teaching in Buhl, Idaho (c. 1940)

Wedding picture (1945)

 

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