2nd Lieutenant Ralph Patton was co-piloting a B-17 in January 1944, returning from a raid on the German airfield of Merignac near Bordeaux, when his already flak-damaged aircraft was shot down by fighters near Kermoroux. Seven of the ten-man crew evaded successfully, including Patton, and he and his surviving crew members wandered the French countryside for days until peasants helped connect them with the French resistance. They were provided with forged papers, safe houses, food and clothing until March, 1944, when the group was assisted in being returned to England as part of Operation Bonaparte, the code name given to the "Escape by the Sea" mission of the resistance network named Shelburn. Patton was discharged from active duty on 31 October 1945. It was some sixteen years later, in 1961, that he returned to France and traced his escape route. While there Mr. Patton met with the provincial Resistance leader who had a list of names and last-known addresses of Americans who had escaped by way of Operation Bonaparte. When he returned home, Ralph contacted two other men on the list and the three of them proceeded with plans for a reunion in Buffalo, New York, in 1964, to honor their war-time benefactors. Including family members, 56 people attended the Buffalo reunion, thus creating the original list of United States Air Forces Escape & Evasion Society members. It was in 1967 that Mr. Patton met Anne Brusselmans and exchanged their war-time memories. They stayed in contact until her death in 1993. Anne's daughter, Yvonne, is credited with entrusting her mother's diaries and other items to Mr. Patton and his collection of AFEES materials. Mr. Patton retired in 1983 from Consolidation Coal Company, where he worked his entire career, retiring as Vice-President of Sales. He currently resides in Maryland.
Anne Brusselmans started her underground activities in 1940 as she translated messages from the BBC into French. She then proceeded to give assistance to Allied servicemen after the invasion of Belgium. From 1941 through September 1944, she was a member of an escape line which stretched from Belgium, across France, over the Pyrenees to Madrid, and finally to England and freedom. Her diary, entitled "Rendez-Vous 127," was published in 1954 and describes her resistance activities. She received numerous awards for her valor and wartime heroism, was made a Member of the British Empire, an honorary member of the RAFES (Canadian branch), was an active member in AAFES and the Order of Daedalians. In 1987, after spending six years in Canada waiting for legal authorization to enter the United States, Ms. Brusselmans was made a permanent resident of the United States and allowed to live with her daughter in Florida. She died in June 1993 and, at her request, her ashes were flown to England.
From the description of Ralph Patton - Escape & Evasion Society collection, 1943-2006. (US Air Force Academy). WorldCat record id: 435654417
