A Lincoln resident who served as a spy during World War II was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal on Tuesday. Patricia Warner, 98, was presented the award by US Representative Katherine Clark at a special ceremony that was held at the Lincoln Public Library.

“So often the stories of women in history go untold,” Clark said in a statement Tuesday. “It was an incredible honor to celebrate Patricia and her fearless patriotism at today’s ceremony. She represents the best of American values: bravery in the face of injustice and an unrelenting commitment to our country’s democratic cause.”

According to Clark’s office, Warner signed up to serve in the Office of Strategic Services — a government agency that was the precursor to the CIA — following her husband’s death in combat in October 1942. “My husband was killed in the war, and I wanted to do something useful,” Warner said at the ceremony.

Warner worked as a spy for two years during World War II, and traveled to New York, Washington, London, and Madrid as part of her service. “I didn’t feel I was in great danger every moment, but I knew the Germans had my number,” she said. She said that while she was working as a secretary in Spain, her real job was to communicate with the French underground to get downed American pilots out of Nazi-occupied territories, according to a press release from Clark’s office.