Webmaster

The original AFEES website, www.airforceescape.com, was created and maintained by member Don Thorpe of Salt Lake City. The AFEES membership is grateful to him for his years of service. A website done in html code, as was airforceescape.com, is complex and time-consuming. Rapid changes in the technology of website creation have resulted in new means of website creation, such as the services offered by WordPress. Using WordPress, it has been possible to create this new AFEES website. Note that its URL is different from the original. It is now www.airforceescape.org rather than .com. Please update your links to the AFEES website accordingly.

Bruce Bolinger was our Webmaster for eight years and made wonderful improvements to our website.

AFEES welcomes additional content for the new website. New pages can be created and prior content can be updated very quickly. Please contact the following person about additions, changes, newsworthy announcements, etc.:

  • Margaret Friche, Corresponding Secretary
  • friche.john1 at gmail.com
  • (612) 850-4044
  • We now use a third party to administer our website.

22 thoughts on “Webmaster

  1. Hello,

    My name is Frederic HENOFF, I am a French researcher and I would like very pleased to receive a copy of the page of the book (page 85 ?) regarding James C. CATER (324 BS / 91 BG). His plane was shot-down over Avord airfield, France on April 28, 1944. I thank you beforehand for your sending.

    Warmest regards from France, Frederic.

    Mr. Henoff,

    Copies of pages 85-86 containing the story of Mr. Cater have been sent to you as attachments to an email.

    Bruce Bolinger
    Webmaster

  2. Hello,
    I am looking for a story of Henry Hodulik.
    He was first cousin of my late grandma.

    Thanks for any help with his story.

    Mr. Micek has been contacted for further information.
    Bruce Bolinger
    Webmaster

  3. Hello…

    I am research Albert Debacker for a friend. I am hoping you could send me a photo copy or simple scan on page 88. This will clear up a big mystery for me. Thank you very much for your help.

  4. Hello, Thank you so much for being part of keeping these stories and connections alive.

    I am researching my fraternal uncle Sebron Andrew McQueen. In the September 2005 edition of your newsletter you list him as an evader who escaped in November of 1943 to Lecumberri in Spain. Is there a reason he isn’t on your master list of evaders? Since I just found this site last night I am not quite certain what the criteria you use to determine who to list.

    Is there any other source for details on his escape? I know he was in the 92nd bombardment group and was shot down in March of 1943 after an attack on an airport at St. André de l’Eure but don’t know any other details. Any help would be appreciated.

    1. The reason he is not on our master index to evaders is because we are still in the process of indexing the names of evaders and their helpers, working backwards from the most recent newsletters to the earliest. We have not yet reached the 2005 newsletters. But you are in luck. The National Archives II at College Park, MD has his 35-page escape and evasion (E&E) report. Go to https://catalog.archives.gov/search and enter his name or his E&E number, which is E&E 249. Reports like this one relatively early in the US involvement in the war are much more detailed than the later ones. You will find a report by him in his handwriting. You can also click on https://catalog.archives.gov/search?q=Sebron%20Andrew%20McQueen which may take you directly to his report. If the link does not work, use the other link or go to https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/escape-evasion-reports-available-on-line/ for instructions on how to search for an E&E report. If the E&E report gives any names of his helpers, you may be able to find files on them, also at National Archives II. You can go there and search the files or order copies from NAII. See https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/ for further information on research. Also see two FAQs on research, one on airmen at https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/faqs/how-do-i-learn-about-an-allied-airman-who-was-shot-down/ and one on their helpers at https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/faqs/faqs-resistance/. Even though he came down in France, many of the FAQ suggestions are equally applicable to his experience.
      Bruce Bolinger, Webmaster.

    2. Seberon A. McQueen, was the copilot of a B-17 called Hi -Lo Jack. My Father Bombardier – Bertram Theiss – was a fellow crew member. They were shot down on Sept 3, 1943, by German Fighters – 30 mile NE of Paris They hid out together by Corneliue Van Ness, at his Flax Mill, in Saint Mesmes, France.

      His son , wife , and grandson met our family in Sept, 2018, in St. Mesmes for a memorial celebration.

      If you want more info, contact me at: [email protected]

      Tom Theiss
      Independence, Missouri

  5. Regarding WW2 “Helpers” a name missing from the list is a Dutch Helper; CORNELIS BRASZ the Dutch city of Enschede in the east of the country close to Germany. He is confirmed as aiding downed pilots and received certificates from U.K., USA and French authorities.

    Dear Mr. Froom,

    The index to Helpers on this website is still under construction and, in any event, only lists the names of Helpers that have appeared in AFEES newsletters. There may not have been any reference to Mr. Brasz in any of the newsletters. Nevertheless, he was in important figure in the Smit-Van der Heijden Line. One of the line’s key contacts was Mr. Cornelis Brasz, then residing at Haaksbergerstraat 37, Enschede, next to the main police station. After the liberation he was residing at Emmastraat 111, Enschede. He was born in Enschede on 25.4.1899, married, and had two children, ages 7 and 19 in 1945. He was married to G.W. Brasz-Brasz. According to his file compiled by Headquarters, European Theatre of Operations, Military Intelligence Service, he gave food and shelter to about 15 Allied airmen. He transferred some of the airmen to his brother-in-law, Bertram Brasz, of Tilburg, a close friend of Karst Smit. In addition, it appears that he put Karst Smit in touch with Hendrik Jannink and his wife Joanna Jannink Bruyns, who also assisted Karst with the transport of airmen. Mr. Jannink was shot at Vught on 5 September 1944 but Mrs. Jannink survived the war. Cornelis Brasz is listed on the British index of Helpers at https://wwiinetherlandsescapelines.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/b24.jpg. He also appears in the list of members of the Smit-Van der Heijden Line at https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/airmen-helped/members-of-the-smit-van-der-heijden-line/civilians-in-the-line/.

    Bruce Bolinger
    AFEES Webmaster

    1. Bruce,
      Thank you for the information on Cornelius Brasz. Do we know, or are there likely to be any records of which specific Allied air crew he actually assisted please? I know he received “Helpers” awards from the British, US and French Governments at the end of WW2. So I am assuming he certainly assisted personnel from those nations. Also that for him to have received those awards, the Allied E&E authorities (MI9, MIS-X etc.) must have received debriefing reports of downed and evading air crew having been assisted by Cornelis Brasz?

      I would be very interested in knowing where to find those references if you or anyone else could assist me please?

      Many thanks
      Phil Froom

  6. Bonjour, Mon père Paul BODOT FFI en Lorraine a secouru en septembre 1944 4 aviateurs americains: PIERCE MC KENNON RAY REUTER BILL HOWELL ET BOB RITTER.
    J’ai 3 photos concernant cet épisode que je peu vous adresser pour alimenter votre site si vous le souhaitez.
    coridalement

    Jean LOUP BODOT

    1. Dear Mr. Bodot,

      I would be very interested in receiving the photos. There are brief references to the airmen in our Member Stories Database (https://airforceescape.org/afees-member-stories/) and I would be interested in knowing more about them.
      The AFEES newsletter is going to resume publication in May with an April deadline for submissions of articles. Would you be interested in writing an article about them?

      Best wishes,
      Bruce Bolinger
      Webmaster

      1. Bonjour et désolé pour le retard. Mon père a rédigé un récit relatant cet événement.(déjà traduit en anglais)
        Je pourrai vous le transmettre avec les photos.
        Merci de m’indiquer comment procéder.
        cordialement
        J.L. BODOT

        1. Dear Mr. Bodot,

          Thank you for writing. I very much would appreciate it if you would send me what your father wrote and the photos. You will find my contact information on this website at https://airforceescape.org/afees-website/webmaster/. If what your father wrote is in the form of a WORD document or something similar, you can attach it to the email along with the photos. If it is a typed document on paper, then I suggest you scan it and send the scan as an attachment to the email. We can then take care of typing it up for the newsletter. I will forward everything to the newsletter editor. The deadline for the next issue of the newsletter is this coming Monday, March 15.

          Best wishes,
          Bruce Bolinger, Webmaster

  7. Dear Sir,

    I’m a British Researcher, interested in Cecil Spencer, who is mentioned on Page 30. Would it please be possible to obtain a scan of that page please? I’m currently assisting a Czech family on the Stalag 344 facebook page, who provided refuge to an escaped PoW called Charles Spencer in 1944.

    Kindest Regards

    Al

    1. It is not clear to me what page 30 you are referring to. Could you please provide more detail? In addition, I am not on Facebook.

      Bruce Bolinger
      Webmaster

  8. Hello,

    I am the grand-son of a Helper named Etienne le Bihan (and not Eilenn as listed on your website). He was involved in the escape of some US aviators. When I was young I met Roy Martin which was hosted in le Moulin de la Pie by Job le Bec.
    As i looked on your website I saw some reference to my grandfather.
    Could you please send me the pages of your magazine which are talking of the helpers : Le Bihan, Jouanjean and Job le Bec please.

    Thanks in advance for your help.

    Jean-François LE BIHAN

    1. Dear Mr. Le Bihan,

      The September 1996 issue of the AFEES newsletter, pg. 4, lists Mme. Eileen Le Bihan of Triel Sur Seine as having died. Although the newsletter stories and our index to them occasionally have misspellings, a misspelling of this first name seems unlikely. Perhaps Eileen was a wife or daughter of Etienne. References in our index to the others you mentioned are as follows:
      Job le Bec – June 1997, pg. 29; Dec. 2009, pg. 26.
      George Jouanjean – Dec. 2009, pg. 25-26; June 1997, pg. 29; and Sept. 1998, pg. 24 (obituary).
      Roy Martin – June 1998, pg. 22; Summer 1990, pg. 5 and 23; Summer 2000, pg. 16.

      You can look up these references yourself by going to https://airforceescape.org/newsletters/ and scrolling down to the newsletter issue that is of interest to you. Each issue is a pdf file. If you click on it, you can open that issue and print out whatever is of interest to you. Not all issues have been indexed. So if you do a Google search of the person’s name +”AFEES”, you may find more references to them.
      Best wishes,
      Bruce Bolinger
      Webmaster

  9. Bonjour,
    Je voudrais les pages, je connais l’histoire du pilote, pour les pages suisse je ne sais pas ou il apparait ? Merci.
    Merlin, H.E. (Harold) – (RAF) Hiver 1991-92, p. 15; Aviateurs Pietons Vers la Suiss de Roger Anthoine, 1940-1945, p. 363 (voir aussi page suisse sur ce site);

  10. I came across your website doing research on my grandfather Gerrit de Kleer. He received a letter of thanks from Dwight D. Eisenhower for his assistance getting Allied soldiers to safety in German occupied Holland.
    I was absolutely thrilled when I found his name in a list of Grade 5 helpers on your website. That is all the information that I have about him and am hoping to find anything that might be out there to keep his story alive.
    Would you be able to help with that?

    1. Dear Ms. Montague,

      The following includes some information that might be of help to you:

      1. History of the Holland Office. See https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/govt-reports/history-of-the-holland-office-6801-mis-x-det/ for background information on how the helper files were compiled.

      2. Questionnaires completed by helpers. Not all helpers were included. Some were dead, some missing, some refused to complete a questionnaire, while others never responded. See https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/?s=questionnaire for links to pages about the questionnaires that helpers were requested to complete. See in particular https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/airmen-helper-questionnaires/questionnaire-translation/. Completed questionnaires may include valuable information on the Allied military personnel helped by them, even including the names of the other helpers involved in helping them. The Evasion Comete website has a good explanation of the helper files at https://www.evasioncomete.be/TxtAwards2.html.

      3. Dutch Red Cross. The Dutch Red Cross (Nederlandse Rode Kruis) kept extensive files of correspondence about Dutch citizens who were in concentration camps or forced labor in Germany. I have found a lot of valuable information here. Those files as of 2018 were turned over to Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD).

      4. Dutch Helper Files. Helper files for each of the occupied countries are at the National Archives II at College Park, Maryland. There were plans to scan all of them and make them available online but, as far as I know, nothing has come of it. But it should be possible to write them and arrange to get a copy of the file, if they are not too shorthanded. See https://www.archives.gov/contact for contact information. See also https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/ for further information.

      5. Digitized Helper List. An electronically searchable tool has been developed by researcher Dimitry Gazan. See https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/helpers-of-allied-airmen/dutch-helper-list/digitized-dutch-helper-list/dutch-pilot-helpers-list-complete-1-by-dimitri-gazan/ and lick on the link to his Excel “Dutch Pilot Helpers List”. I entered “Dedemsvaart” in the search field and came up with 11 helpers in Dedemsvaart alone. It seems that if you apply for the National Archives helper files of these people you may find clues to the activity of your grandfather. But wait until you have his file since it may mention one or more of them.

      6. My Files. When I was faced with surgery at the end of 2019, my wife had been after me to tell her what she should do with all my WWII files if I should die before she did! I decided to donate them to the Air Force Academy McDermott Library at Colorado Springs, Colorado. There they joined several other escape and evasion collections. The library staff indexed my collection and you can find the index at https://airforceescape.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Finding-Aid_MS-71-Bolinger-Bruce.pdf. Hardenberg, The Netherlands, apparently was a governmental center for the area including Dedemsvaart where your grandfather lived. According to page 35 of the index you can find a folder on Hardenberg, at MS 71, Bolinger Bruce; Box 47: Smit Org; Folder 8-Smit Org, Hardenberg-Netherlands. If you contact the library as shown below, I think you should be able to obtain a copy of the contents of the file. There might be some useful information for you.

      Ruth Kindreich/Special Collections
      2354 Fairchild Dr., Suite 6A52
      USAF Academy, Colorado, 80840
      Office: 333-4674/6923
      [email protected]

      7. Local Historical Society. It seems likely that there will be one or more local historical societies that would have an interest in the WWII Resistance in their area. I suggest that you see what historical societies there may be in Dedemsvaart, Hardenberg, and Overijssel.

      8. National Archives File. I just now did a search for information on Gerrit and came up with a file number for him at the National Archives II in College Park, Maryland. It is https://catalog.archives.gov/id/38975377. This number is his National Archives Identifier. The page also gives UD183 and Container ID 767. All the contact information for his file is to be found there. His file appears to be in Record Group 498.

      9. Eisenhower Certificate. Doing a search for him and “Eisenhower Certificate”, the same link appeared. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/38975377. On page 85 (see lower right corner of the page) he is listed with what must be his certificate number of 2237. Considering the sheer number of certificates shown, I think they are the equivalent of his being a helper Grade 5.

      10. Air Forces Escape and Evasion Society. Another member of AFEES and I have been indexing all of AFEES’ newsletters since it was formed in 1964. I checked its index to helpers, https://airforceescape.org/newsletters/index-to-newsletters/index-to-helpers/, but did not find him listed under The Netherlands. But all that tells us is that no one wrote an article or news story about him. He may not have been around or have heard of AFEES.

      11. What Did My Mother, Father, etc. Do In the Resistance? Take a look at https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/faqs/faqs-resistance/ to see if there are any other suggestions for your research that I may not have mentioned above.

      Best wishes,
      Bruce Bolinger

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