| The Flying Boot
patch was awarded to airmen who
evaded capture and "walked out" of
occupied territory. |
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Introduction by Michael Faley
100th Bomb Group Foundation
Historian:
We have been very fortunate to have a gentlemen,
Michael Moores LeBlanc,
provide us with information previously unavailable to us, and he is
willing to share this information with our veterans, families and
historians.
As you will see in the coming weeks, this section will grow with
information on our men who "walked out" with the help of Belgian
civilians, under penalty of death. We hope you will view this material,
ask Michael questions and provide him with info you may have for his
research which he in turn is passing on to us. We are happy to welcome
his expertise and passion to our website. Welcome aboard, Michael!
Introduction by Michael Moores LeBlanc
Explanation of E&E
Report Content:
Though evaders were debriefed when they reached Spain, their
E&E numbers (American designation) or SPG numbers (British
Common Wealth Forces) weren't assigned until they had been
debriefed & interrogated in London when they returned there. E&E
numbers from 1 to about 675 represent Americans who reached
England before D-Day. (For the British this number is ca SPG
2,000). Generally speaking airmen whose evasion number appear
after this sequence were liberated when the Allied armies over
ran them - with ca E&Es in the early 2,000s representing US
airmen liberated in Belgium with SPGs in the range of 3000 being
British forces. I have had little interest or reason to focus on
the evasion experiences after early September 1944 so cannot
comment on that later period but that is not to say there isn't
a fascinating story there too. It just happens to be my cut off
point.
E&E files are generally presented as follows:
(1) There is a general E&E file listing the basic stats
of the airman involved : His E&E number, name rank, ASN, BG/BS,
FTR date, crew, etc, followed by a general questionnaire.
(2) There is an Appendix 'A' file. This section usually
gives information about events from the time of take off,
including details of the a/c being shot down and observations
about other members of the crew. I expect that from the 100 BG
historian's point of view some interesting information can be
found in this as it sometime offers tactical information about
the mission and the fate of the a/c and crew. This appendix,
usually, describes the airman's experience up until such time as
he is placed in the hands of an organization, and typically ends
with the statement, " ... from that point my evasion was
arranged by an organization'.
(3) There is an Appendix 'B' file. This file usually
deals with the airman's assessment of the evasion material he
was supplied with by MIS-X 9 (the military organization
concerned with evasion and evaders). MIS-X later conducted
interviews with all evader helpers. Incidentally, the files of
both 'evaders' and their 'helpers' are available from NARA. On
average, I have found each file costs something in the order of
$15.00 each by the time it arrives in the mail. Each and every
evader's story can be researched in this way - either though is
own file or that of his helpers. Helper files usually indicate
who an airman was received from and who he was passed on to and
who the helpers contacts were.
(4) There is an Appendix 'C' file. This is the part of
the file that gives information about the airman's evasion,
offering details about dates, places and helpers. This is the
'golden nugget' of the E&E students research. Generally speaking
the 'C' files are available for most US evaders prior to D-Day.
Unfortunately, the British War Secrets Act is/was applied in
such a way, that appendix 'C' files for British Forces are still
very rare and very hard to find, though it is possible that
Canadian, Australian and New Zealand archives may offer them. I
mention this because the story of any given evader can be
complimented in the evasion reports of other nationalities the
evader crossed paths with ... but this is, perhaps, only of
interest to the avid researcher.
(5) There is an Appendix 'D' file. This is the part of
the file that deals with 'Intelligence' information the evader
was able to collect during the course of his evasion.
An evader's file will have all or only some of the above
material. Generally speaking, the files of airmen evading and
making 'home runs' before D-Day will have all of the above
included. After D-Day and especially after the allied armies had
over run the areas the airman had been and he was 'liberated,
the only information will be Appendix A and a perhaps brief list
of known helpers. Airmen captured while evading (often the best
and most dramatic of stories) have what is called RAMP files
(Returned American Military Personnel?). Some times these are
quite detailed especially if there were war crimes involved
somewhere. Often there is only a list of helpers and sometimes
the ID of the betrayer.
E&E reports come in a variety of formats. Some times they are in
the evaders own hand - which means it hasn't been censored
That's very good). Sometimes they are typed up which means they
have been censored and edited but at least they are easy to
read. The last, and possibly the worst case scenario for
understanding events (but also the situation in the vast
majority of cases) is that they are in the long-hand steno short
hand of Lt. (later Capt) Don Emerson. It requires some skill and
experience to decipher his hand writing.
Webmaster Note:
Most of the E&E information you will see in this section is
in the public domain, and anyone who has an E&E number can
obtain it. However, we do request that you give proper credit to
Michael Moores LeBlanc if you choose to use his research.
Email Michael
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