Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO ( 1918 – 10 May 2012) was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II. Known by the nickname "Kjakan" ("The Chin") and as "Agent No. 24", he was the most highly decorated citizen in Norway, including being the only person to have been awarded the War Cross with three swords, Norway's highest military decoration. Early life and education Born in Rjukan, in Telemark, he was the son of Margit and Gustav Sønsteby. As a boy he enjoyed walking in the mountains around Rjukan with his school friends, many of whom later became members of the Resistance alongside him. He attended what is now Rjukan videregående skole, earning an examen atrium. Among the members of his graduating class in 1937 were later Resistance fighters such as Knut Haugland, Halvor Rivrud, Olav Skogen, Leif Nilsen, Rolf Solem, Turjus Aarnes, Knut Berge, and Einar Nordgaard. After graduating from gymnasium, he moved to Oslo, where he studied at Otto Treiders Business School. The next year he began studying social economy at the University of Oslo. While in Oslo he also carried out his obligatory military service and worked in a series of jobs. Second World War Sønsteby was working as an accountant when the Germans occupied Norway in 1940. Norway's regular armed forces surrendered on 10 June 1940, after two months of fighting, and the country was subsequently occupied by the Germans. He quickly joined the Norwegian Resistance forces in Østlandet. He fought in Philip Hansteen's ski company. He was also involved in the underground press. In 1941 he was brought into the secret British military unit called Special Operations Executive (SOE) at their office in Stockholm. He became "Agent 24" in the SOE. While on assignment in Stockholm in 1942, he was interned and imprisoned for three months by Swedish police, but managed to convince them that he was not the same Gunnar Sønsteby for whom they were looking. Back in Norway in 1943, he was caught by the Gestapo but managed to escape and flee to Sweden. From there, he was sent to Britain, where in June of that year he enrolled in the Linge Company, which was formed to participate in British-led operations in Norway, to organise, instruct, and the lead the Norwegian Resistance Movement, to serve as a link between the home front and the