tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737903099642089452.post5410009794116965720..comments2024-03-12T13:28:53.733+00:00Comments on The Escape Line: He Made It Back Alone - Part OneKeithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15204149912245253542noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737903099642089452.post-76424045953908461092013-05-11T13:17:39.012+01:002013-05-11T13:17:39.012+01:00Thanks for your reply Helen. I haven't read Ke...Thanks for your reply Helen. I haven't read Keefe's account and will be putting that right.Keithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15204149912245253542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737903099642089452.post-70080014102958621482013-05-09T23:29:46.327+01:002013-05-09T23:29:46.327+01:00This was another engaging post well-told by Keith....This was another engaging post well-told by Keith. Sale has been through so much and kept his integrity and nerve, with still another 500 miles to go over the Pyrenees with its rough terrain. ‘Two Gold Coins and a Prayer’ is the recollection of Lt. Col. James H. Keefe Jr., USAF (Ret.) Another tale of astonishing escape.<br />Disaster struck on March 8, 1944, when Lieutenant James Keefe was forced to bail out of his B-24 bomber over Papendrecht, Holland. With the help of some truly remarkable individuals involved in the Dutch Resistance, James was able to survive undetected for five months in the occupied land. This was a most unusual feat, as one of the top priorities for the Nazis was to capture pilots who had been forced to bail out. Part of this was to break up the Resistance, and part of it was simply the glory of catching these “fly-boys” who were responsible for so much damage from the air.Initially, Lieutenant Keefe was being smuggled between various safe houses, and getting falsified papers together - towards the eventual goal of getting him to England. One of the keys to blending in was to not have any unusual items on one’s person.One of the most dangerous things Lieutenant Keefe had in his possession were English pound notes. These would have given him away immediately had they been discovered, so a kindly member of the Resistance by the name of J.J. van Dongen traded him the notes for two Dutch gold coins, of approximately the same value. Unbelievably, Mr. Keefe still has those coins, and a picture of them is reproduced in the book. Throughout his ordeal, which involved eventually being captured and imprisoned as a POW, (and much more) James was able to somehow hide these two coins and eventually bring them all the way back home to Seattle, WA.That feat alone is hard to believe. After a traitor set him up, and he was taken into custody, the Nazis strip-searched him numerous times. Yet he still managed to somehow hang on to those coins throughout the entire ordeal.The term “ordeal” does not even do justice to the conditions he describes having lived through as a prisoner of war. It was not just that the camp was horrible, (although it definitely was), but there were so many other indignities. Disease, lack of food, forced marches for untold kilometers in the snow - just about the worst of everything one can imagine.What makes Two Gold Coins And A Prayer so remarkable, besides the story itself, is just how much detail it contains. Not only in the nearly day by day accounts of what went on, but in so many of the documents James was able to somehow acquire and keep for all these years. We look forward to following Sale throughout the rest of his epic journey to freedom and hope that his poor feet eventually find home.<br />“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”<br />(Lao Tzu.)<br /><br /><br /><br />Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304115337328075135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737903099642089452.post-43898079265903462442013-05-05T22:27:35.045+01:002013-05-05T22:27:35.045+01:00Underplayed as in 'he stops to help a German ...Underplayed as in 'he stops to help a German officer push his car which has broken down.' Blistered feet, language barriers, moving at night covering 200 miles by foot and bicycle and still has 500 miles to go. I'm in awe of these people. Sallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14090018804016223955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737903099642089452.post-29945949162772393242013-05-05T12:11:56.617+01:002013-05-05T12:11:56.617+01:00Thanks Maria. I agree. I guess the other aspect ab...Thanks Maria. I agree. I guess the other aspect about the MI9 debriefs which ultimately made up the reports, is that they would have been classed as military intelligence and conducted in a formal way, with the stenographer being a complete stranger. The evaders would have stuck to the questions asked and the facts, hence the tone of the reports. For me personally, it is in the books and memoirs written later where the underplaying really comes into its own. So many accounts are told with that 'reserve and matter of factness' of the era. Keithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15204149912245253542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737903099642089452.post-38570144485310730432013-05-05T08:47:36.239+01:002013-05-05T08:47:36.239+01:00You say reports were underplayed - I 've been ...You say reports were underplayed - I 've been thinking about that...<br />I would imagine, after living with danger for so long, it becomes the norm, and those brave souls became immune to thinking about it in the way we do when reading these heroic tales.<br /><br />Thank goodness they existed. <br /><br />Another interesting post - thank you.Mariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05322234219197041788noreply@blogger.com