Abdisa Aga

Abdisa Aga was born circa 1919 in Wollega. Enlisting in the Ethiopian army at age fourteen, Abdisa fought fiercely against invading Italian forces before being wounded, captured, and sent to a maximum-security prison island in Italy.

In a daring escape, Abdisa overpowered the prison guards, freed dozens of Yugoslav, British, and American POWs, and looted the armory. Leading this international guerrilla unit through the Italian mountains, he blew up fascist ammunition dumps and was decorated by the Allied command. Returning to Ethiopia in 1945, he served as a bodyguard to the Emperor and national hero.