THE AIR FORCES ESCAPE & EVASION SOCIETY Summer 2008 Communications Volume 20, No. 2 W|CH|TA FALLS, TEXAS T6gA7-2501 June 12.2008 ffi#NNNNNNxt*txx*tx*tstxxpt-rxxxxex*ttry*tstx,slstxs,stsls.tmav^.rnan n n The new AFEES Corner in the Mighty \th AF Museumwasformnlty ileilicateit,on April 25, 2008, as afeature of this year's AFEES reunian . Officiating were AFEES President Richard Smilh and MuseumCEO Dn Walter Brown, Presentwhile Chairman and Co-Founder Ralph Fatton applied the scissors,fromleft: Belgian HelperPeter Hakira Presiilent Smith, AFEES Executive Vice Presiilent Yvonne Dalqt-Brusselmans and E. G. (Buck) Shuler, who represented the milseum. 'AFEES Corner'becomes u reali$! Remarks delivered at dedication of the Escape of the Mighty Eighth Air Force?,, We hope that it and Evasion at Pooler, Exhibit Gu, wrll be obvious when you see the exhibit. on April25, 2008 - Combat crews generally accepted that the loss By RALPH I( PATTON rate was 4 percent per mission and they were AFEES Chairman & Co-Founder committed to fly 25 missions. To most of uS, the Chevy Chase, MI) odds looked impossible. One might be tempted to ask, "Why does E&E When an evader returned to base, he gave every desewe this great location in this beautiful museum (Continued on page 3) I Page 2 Summer 2O0g U.S. AIR FORCES ESCAPE & EVASION SOCIETY The Prez Sez COMMUN'CAZONS By Richard M. Smith ---::::1vi::::::i::::::'i3::l:::::'* <[email protected]> Volume 20,*ffi.il"*"o*.d; Nurnber 2 June L2,2008 Fromthe ehores of Ottq Tail l-ake: I trustyou all had anice staY in Pooler, Georgi4 and that You CO-FOUNDER: CHAIRMAN AND inspected the Safe House to Your *Ralph K. Patton, Apt. #1205, 8100 Connecticut Ave Chevy Chase, MD ' satisfaction. 208 I 5 Phone: 301 -657 -447 8; Fax: 30 I -657 -447 9 ; It was most interesting to see how PRESIDENT: (and Third) generation is *tRichard M. Smith, 36214 Augustana Drive, Battle Lake MN 56515-9458 the Second AFEES (Summer) Phone 218-49 5'2106;Fax 218-495-3000 taking shape to extend the (Winter)76543BegoniaLane,PalmDesertCLgzzll"160-345-2282 lesacv.*Ater VICE PRESIDENT: returning home, I had +**Francis J. Lashinsky, 8015 Gatehouse Woods, PO Box 125, Comwall, PA questions from some members of the 17o16-0125 ; Phone 7 17 -228-0792; <fl ashinsky@comcast net> Board ofDirectors as to what the final E)GCUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT: destination of the AFEES flag should ** DunedinFL 34698-3250 Yvonne Daley, 1962 Brae-Moor Drive, be. So I polled the bomd rnembers 34-9573 Fax: 7 27 -73 4-9 565; <gadaboutl27@msn'com> Phone: 727'7 ; and found that there were 10 votes to TREASURER: deposit the flag at the Air Force *Francene Weyland, 1117 W. Northeast Shore Dr., McHenry, tr 60051-9211 Museum in DaYton, Ohio, when we Phone 81 5-38 5-4318,FAX 815-459-0435 MaY. One mernber MEMBERSHIP & CORRESPONDING SECRETARY: meet there next at *Clayton C. David, l9 Oak Ridge Pond, Hannibal, MO 63401-6539 voted against making a decision Phone: 573-221-0441 this timi and one mernber was out of RECORDING SECRETARY: town. i"r*Robert H. Sweatt. 5208 FM 390-W, Burton, TX77835-9704,979'289-2073 HONORARY DIRECTOR: Gen Duncan McNabb OTFMR DIRECTORS to Thailand. Several coPies ofthe *Sandra East Haven CT 06515-3314 A. Comstock,4 French Ave, Unit 7, flag have been made and Presented to <[email protected]> Ph.: 203 -469-337 2, foreign helper groups' **Gerald P. Dechambre,2415 Thoroughbred Irt , Woodstock IL 6009 Take care, nice PeoPle, and we **Richard P.Shandor, 94 High St Cresson PA 16630; Ph':814'886-2735 , soon! *tBeverly Rd Madison NJ 07940 will visit again Patton Wand, 37 Crescent , M. SMITH LEGAL COUNSEL: -RICHARD R.E.T. Smith, PO Box 38, Wahpeton, ND 58074; Phone: 701-642'2668 COMMUN IC AZIONS EDITOR : ""ffi 4<*ttLarry Grauerholz, PO Box 2501, Wichita Falls, TX 76307-2501; Phone: 940-692-6700 t **Class of 2011 *Class of 2009 **Class of 2010 Next COMMUNICATIOTiIS IS THE OFFICIA.L JOURNAT OF TIIE AIR reunion! AFEES FORCES ESCAPE & EVASION SOCIETY. AFEES 1S A TAX-EXEMPT VETERAr{S ORGANTZATToN UNDER rRS CODE 501 (C) (19). rT WAS Thursday- FOUNDED IN 1964 AND TS CHARTERED IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA. THESOCIETY'SPIJRPOSEISTOENCOURAGEME.I'IBERSHELPEDBYTHE RESISTANCE ORGANIZATIONS OR PATRIOTIC NATIONALS TO COIqTINI,'E Saturd&y, EXISTING FRIENDSHIPS OR RENEW RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE VIHO HELPED THE},I DURING THEIR ESCAPE OR EVASION. May 7-9,2009 ELIGIBILITY REQUIRES THAT ONE MUST IIAVE BEEN A U.S. AIRMAN' HEMUSTHAVEBEENFoRcEDDo!{NBEHINDENEHYLINESAIIDAVoIDED CAPTIVITY, OR ESCAPED F'RO}4 CAPTIVITY TO RETURN TO AI.LIED Dayton, Ohio CoNTROL. (Memorial Service and Banquet IN ADDITION TO REGUI'AR MEI*TBERSHIP, OTHER CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP ARE HELPER MEMBERS. AND FRIEND MEMBERS. on Saturday, May 9) Sunrmer 2(ng Page B MORE: important E&E Dedication to this project, I would like to thank the Board of Directors of the Mighty Eighth Air Force a[rnan a real boost in morale. Here was proof Museum for approving this new E&E exhibit. positive that MIA did not necessarily pOW mean or I thank Doc Brown for keeping his promise KIA! to have this project completed on time. As President Eisenhower wrote in a letter to us, A special word of thanks goes to Vivian Rogers "Every member of a crew that was found and saved Price who took charge two months ago and brought and sent back to us brought greatjoy to his project all the to completion. I would be remiss if I did comrades." not thank Rick Ennis and his crew for the use of The knowledge that thousands of men and their considerable skills in the physical construction women in occupied countries were vralling to help if of this exhibit. you were shot down was of comfort to Allied air In conclusion, I would like to thank all of you crews. The Resistance paid aterrible price for who put your skills, your talents , andyour overtime helping Allied airmen. It is believed that more than hours into this challenging project. Last, but not one member of the Resistance was executed for least, thank you, Kerry Brown, for your idea of the "Safe each Allied airman returned. In addition, hundreds House." of women were sent to Ravensbruck concen tration camp where a great number died while trying to More '08 Reunion coverage survive under inhumane conditions. Unknown to most Allied aircrew was the fact that British and American intelligence agents were actively engaged in setting up escape lines specifically Tampa designed to seek out fallen airmen and Team does itl get By YVoNNE DALEY them back to their bases in Italy or England. presideni Executive Vice anO fieJnion Coordinator A number of airmen were lost in raging rivers or shot by German patrols while aftempting Wh to evade. tne sa g8t'.1}',fiiiyJt We expect that this new E&E exhibit hall will just as demonsrate faaed aav'editv to historians the importance that combat and ov air forces placed on escape and evasion. Speaking for members of the Escape and Evasion tea Society, we and hope that this a exhibit will serve as a tribute to all andle an those who lost their lives in E&E work, and will assure surviving Helpers that we and our families will continue to live up to our slogan, WE WILL NEVER FORGET! I regret that Lou Lyle, theman who made all this possible, did not live to see this new E&E exhibit. I .Thank qgrsonallV owe a great big you, to Buck Shuler and Dr. Walter Br6wrU who patiently ofutely noJ last, the Hospitality listened to my comments and complaints. successful in providing'the Can you spite some problems riith notel imagine Buck -_ always the officer and gentlernan -- trying to collect promised big bucks from a guy Te am h as perf who didn't have it and did not know .^ II,l :,T^lTq. orm ed mag n if ice nfl y over^. rite tast six yeafg and wijl be privitedjeO to where}re was going to get it? Given your Od patience !h^e^9?me one m6re time for tne blvioiiieunion in and a few friends, we worked it out and the 2009!. promised pledge was delivered. ======================================= And Thanks, yvonne, for all you With concern that I might miss somene verv do! Page 4 Summer 20tn Kindness of French saved Jim From the Huntsville (Ala.) TIMES, Sunday, April 27,2001 Rep ri nt ed with p er missio n. All rights reserved By YVONNE BETOWT Tirnes StaffWriter yvonne. betowt@htimes. com Jirn Williams spent weeks on the run in France after his bomber was shot Jim lYilliams holds a model of a B-17 bomher like the one in which down, and even though Gennan he served as navigator when he was shot down over France in 1944. soldiers were all arormd, never once did anyone turn him down when he "When I first landed, I immediately American would have been killed." asked fot help. buried rny parachute, Mae West (flotation device), flYing Pants and Williams cautiously aPProached The then-22-year-old navigator with flying boots," he said. "'We were people and would tell them that he the Army Air Fotces' 92nd Bomb taught not to leave a trace where we was utn American aviatot. "I nsver Group was in a B-17 bomber on a had been." had anyone turn me down when I mission over Germany when it was asked for help." hit by bullets on Feb.