Josefina Guerrero

WWII spy who leveraged her leprosy diagnosis to sabotage Japanese forces in the Philippines

Josefina Guerrero (1917–1996), known as Joey the Leper, was a Filipino spy during Japan’s WWII occupation. Diagnosed with leprosy, she exploited societal fears of the disease to gather intelligence. Soldiers avoided searching her, enabling her to transport maps, medicines, and messages for guerrilla fighters.

Guerrero’s most daring act involved smuggling a map of Japanese fortifications to U.S. forces ahead of the 1945 Battle of Manila. Her disease masked her espionage; as she recalled, They thought I was harmless, just a sick woman. Post-war, she received the U.S. Medal of Freedom but lived in obscurity until declassified documents revealed her heroism.

Her story challenges stereotypes of disability and gender. As historian James Zobel notes, Guerrero turned stigma into a weapon, proving that perceived weakness could be strategic power. Her life exemplifies unconventional resistance in the face of oppression.