Most people don’t know that Mayer fled Nazi Germany for New York City in 1938 to escape Adolf Hitler’s persecution of Jews. He was one of the best spies they had back then. He led one of the most daring spy missions of World War II,” said Patrick O’Donnell. In February 1945, Mayer and two other men parachuted into Austria and set up a spy ring with local agents. He also posed as a wounded Nazi soldier to get more information about the war. He was a very convincing soldier back during the war.