Escape from Behind Enemy Lines

In commemoration of Veterans Day, join guest lecturer Rick Feingold as he recounts the story of how his father Lt. Louis Feingold, a B-17 U.S. Army Air Force navigator, escaped Nazi capture.

The Shelburne Line was a World War II escape network operating in occupied France, which returned 136 allied servicemen to England in 1943-44. The French Resistance located downed airmen and hid them from the Germans utilizing a series of safe-houses. Once a month—during dark of the moon—the men were transported to the Brittany coast to meet a British Motor Gun Boat which would return them to England. 

Lt. Louis Feingold flew 21 bombing missions with the United States Air Force during World War II.  After his B-17 was attacked by 7 German fighters he was shot down over enemy-occupied France. Feingold’s escape story is told using letters, maps, photos, and the original fake identity cards.

Guest presenter Rick Feingold teaches The Air Force in World War II at Bergen Community College.