An Introduction

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!

All of these are actual escape photos. Click a name to display the more information on the individual and crew.
George P. Gineikis	Harold L. Pope	John K. Justice	Carl L. Spicer	Winans C. Shaddix

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.