Ilfrey Evades the Enemy

      Smoke suddenly began to fill the cockpit, choking him. His squadronmates began screaming over the radios for him to bail out and despite his low altitude he released his canopy and he hurled himself over the left side of the aircraft, immediately pulling on the D-Ring to open his parachute. The chute opened, blossomed and spun Jack around once before he hit the corner of a farmhouse then bounced off into the yard.

      Lt. Carpenter, who witnessed the incident saw Ilfrey's parachute oscillate once before he thumped into a wall of the farmhouse. (After the war Carpenter told Ilfrey his first thought was "Too damned close Jack!", as he feared the impact was fatal to his squadron mate.) Another member of the squadron, Lt. Heiden, considered landing to rescue the downed pilot but rough terrain made this imposible.

      Ilfrey sprung to his feet, threw off his parachute pack and flight gear, then turned to find a man nearby staring at him with a pitchfork in his hands. Undaunted, he asked the farmer which way was north and set off in the direction the farmer pointed at a full run. He continued on through forests and hedgerows until completely exhausted. Finding some high grass he fell to the ground, caught his breath and pulled out his maps. It was then that he realized he was aprox. 10 miles south of Angers --aprox. 200 miles behind enemy lines. This was all the encouragement he needed to return to his feet and continue moving. He stripped off his flying suit, insignia and tie, leaving him dressed in some semblance of civilian clothing, and as dusk fell he started down a country road to the north.

      In a few minutes two boys on bicycles approached him from the rear. One rode up to him and asked in broken English if he was the American "aviateur" who had crashed his plane earlier. Jack sensed no threat from the boys and told them he was. The boy told him that he should come along with them to their village and he would see about finding Jack a place to hide. Ilfrey climbed on the bike and the three of them made their way to the village of Andigne. Jack was then told to hide on the side of the road and the boys assured him they would return as soon as some sort of arrangements could be made.

      During their ride together Jack had learned that the boys names were Jean Voileau, aged 17 and Raymond Charvan, aged 19. Raymond, his father and sister Odette ran a café in the village and Jean lived next door. After a short while the boys returned and took Jack to the café where he sat down with the family to a small meal. After a long discussion and much hesitation the family agreed to allow Jack to stay despite the fact German soldiers often frequented the café. Should they be caught all of the men would be executed by the Germans and all of the women deported to Concentration camps. Finally Odette spoke up that no Germans were currently in the area and after a toast Jack finally got to sleep in a bed upstairs.

     The next morning Jack awoke to the smells of food cooking in the kitchen and made his way downstairs. Everyone went out of their way to please the downed pilot and in turn he pitched in with the family chores. While sweeping up the café Jack noticed two German soldiers entering for a drink. Almost paralyzed with fear he began to sweep back towards the kitchen area and his luck held out as no one seemed to notice his hasty retreat. His presence in the cafe began to worry the villagers, who faced severe (if not lethal) punishment for harboring him. Ilfrey had originally planned to remain where he was until the area was liberated by the Allied forces, but from listening to broadcasts on the cafe owner's clandestined radio he learned the advance had been bogged down. Jack decided that the risk was becoming too great and that he should try and make it to Allied held territory.

2 Franc Note from 1944

     Upon telling the family of his plans they gave Jack some clothes and a bicycle. Jean managed to obtain identification papers stating that Jack was a farmer named Jacques Robert, from the village of Angers. Odette composed a note informing the reader that Jacques Robert was struck deaf in a bombing raid and was trying to get to Bayeaux to see his parents. Jack gave them all of his money from his escape kit and the next morning set off on Odette's bicycle.

      Within 10 kilometers Jack encountered a parked German truck. Shaking in his boots he pedaled onward and just as he came along side the truck a German soldier jumped out and began screaming at him. Jack was read to surrender, but he quickly realized the soldier was looking for three other trucks. Jack replied "Oui, Monsiuer" and pointed down the road. With that the solider got back in the truck and Ilfrey continued onward.

      Ilfrey was on the downward side of a grade near the town of Laval when he noticed that the road led through the center of a Luftwaffe airdrome. Not wishing to draw attention to himself he pedaled up to the sentry and stopped. Playing his "deaf act" to the hilt, jack handed the sentry his identity card. The sentry took the card, read it and shook his head "nein" ("no"). He then stepped into the booth and pressed a buzzer. A German officer appeared and the two men walked toward Jack, who again thought he was about to be captured. Jack handed the officer the note Odette had written and after reading it he handed it back. He then waved Jack onward. Ilfrey considered trying to steal an airplane from the field as he had flown a captured Messerschmitt Me-109 during his tour in North Africa, but he then thought better. After making his way through the field and into Laval itself Ilfrey was, for the first time, able to see the damage of heavy bomber raids on a city. This made travel a bit slower, but by nightfall he had found a barn to rest in and decided to call it a night.

      Awakening at an early hour Jack pushed the bicycle to the road and there upon discovered that one of the tires had gone flat during the night. At a complete loss for what to do, he sat down and tried to form a plan. A priest rode up on a bicycle and offered his assistance and Jack felt safe explaining his predicament. The priest seemed amazed, but in perfect English told Jack to follow him to his parish and they would fix the tire. Upon arriving at the church a meal was prepared, the bicycle was repaired and Jack wound up staying the night.

      The next morning Jack continued north and by afternoon made his way through the town of Mayenne without any incident, then upon finding a secluded spot on a nearby river he stopped for the first bath since the afternoon of his uncompleted mission. While still in the river two teen-aged boys appeared on the bank and began yelling at him. Jack swam towards them and through gestures tried to communicate that he was deaf. The boys relaxed and Jack shared some food and cigarettes with them. Finally, sure that they were of no threat to them Ilfrey told them who he was. In perfect English one of The boys exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us? We thought you were going to steal something from us!" Ilfrey was invited to their home and after a few drinks and a meal accepted their offer of a bed for the night.

     The next morning he began to hit the rolling countryside near Normandy. This slowed his pace to a crawl at times but he never let himself slack off too much as six German trucks full of soldiers were right behind him. Eventually the trucks over took him and to his surprise the soldiers motioned for him to grab on to the truck and hitch a ride. This gave Jack the chance to rest for a short time, however just a few more miles down the road a flight of six P-38s appeared and the trucks stopped. The soldiers scattered and Jack pedaling for all he was worth. At the top of the next hill he stopped and watched as the Lightnings strafed and destroyed the trucks.