The Evader: An American Airman's Eight Months with the Dutch Underground - Softcover

Harry A. Dolph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0890159742 ISBN 13: 9780890159743

Publisher: Eakin Press, 2022

Synopsis

More than a million American airmen were involved in air fighting during World War II. When Eighth Air Force aircraft were lost due to enemy action over Europe, the statistics on American airmen accumulated as follows:

- Over 26,000 were killed in action.

- Over 130,000 became prisoners of war.

- Over 7,000 were permanently disabled or hospitalized.

- Over 500 were interned in Sweden or Switzerland, neutral countries.

- And, over 5,000 evaded capture by the enemy after they were shot down!

These 5,000-plus American airmen who evaded capture by the enemy became part of or were hidden by the underground forces of the country in which they were shot down. Their wounds were treated, they were dressed in civilian clothes, they were given identity cards, and in many cases, led to freedom. The surviving evaders, or evadees, as they were known then, became bound together by an organization known as the Air Forces Escape and Evasion Society.

These evaders were sworn to secrecy until the mid-1970s to protect those who helped them during the war. Their stories were not for publication. This is the story of one of the 5,000 who, with the help of the Dutch underground, was hidden by, worked with, and fought beside the brave Netherlanders during the German occupation of their country.

About this title

About the Author

Harry Dolph, born and reared in Michigan, enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps after high school. Because of ill treatment, his entire CCC camp deserted. Later, after his family moved to California, he rejoined the CCC, using his mother's married name of Clark as an alias due to his earlier desertion. He joined the Army Air Corps in October 1940 and spent almost eight years in the service as Harry A. Clark. After his plane, True Love, was shot down over Holland in August 1944, he was protected by and participated with the Dutch underground for eight months. The author, a businessman and salesman, became an avid boatsman and began writing articles on boating. In 1976 he and his wife, Patricia, moved to Houston, Texas, where he opened his own insurance agency. He sold the business and retired in 1984.

Edition details

• Publisher: Eakin Press
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0890159742
• ISBN 13: 9780890159743
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 378