William Aalto
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William Aalto was born in the United States. He was a member of the communist party, and he joined the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, which was a unit that volunteered to fight during the Spanish Civil War for the Popular Front.
He arrived in Spain in 1937, in which he joined the other International Brigades at Albacete. During this time Aalto wrote: "A soldier who is politically conscious that he is right and who has a feeling of community with his society will do his job well."
In the Second World War Aalto joined the U.S. Army in which he served in Northern Africa. He was later recruited by the Office of Strategic Services but it was then he was discovered to be a homosexual, and was released by William Donovan. Aalto returned to the army and while training soldiers he had his hand blown off by a grenade.
After the war he studied at the Columbian University, he also wrote for the New Masses but was expelled later because of his homosexuality. He died of leukemia in 1958.
