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| Europe |
| Dutch Honor U.S. Soldiers Killed in WWII |
| 2004-05-31 |
| Hundreds of Dutch and Americans gathered at the American Military Cemetery on Sunday to honor U.S. soldiers who died fighting to liberate the Netherlands from Germany in World War II. It was the 60th anniversary memorial service for what the United States' Dutch Ambassador Clifford Sobel called the "red spring and summer" of 1944. The only American cemetery in the Netherlands contains remains of soldiers who were killed in the fighting around Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, as well as others killed during the allied push toward Berlin and while flying bombing missions before D-Day. The cemetery is located outside the Dutch town of Margraten, about six miles east of Maastricht. It holds the remains of 8,302 allied soldiers from all the U.S. states, as well as England, Canada and Mexico. Forty pairs of brothers are buried side by side. Graves are laid out in long arcs and marked by white marble crosses. In addition, the site contains a "wall of names" listing 1722 men who died in action but whose bodies were never recovered. Dutchman Jozef Mommers, attending the ceremony with his wife and children, laid flowers on the graves of three soldiers. He said he didn't have a personal relationship with them, but had "adopted" them out of gratitude for liberating his home town of Valkenburg when he was a boy. Dutchwoman Jeanne Blom, who lives nearby, said she had been coming to the cemetery for as long as she could remember. "If you're feeling uneasy and stressed, then you can sit here a while and come to peace again," she said. "You remember the things that are important in life." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 This past week many PBS stations ran a documentary titled "Thank you, Eddie Hart" about a Dutch family who "adopted" a North Carolina GI's grave in the Netherlands, and who have been tending it since 1946. This news story and the documentary complement each other. |
| Posted by: Tresho 2004-06-01 1:15:26 AM |
| #4 Well then get a name A5066 and come back often. Eindhoven, was that the coup de main with the gliders and the parachute drop on the far side of the bridge? |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-05-31 1:42:03 PM |
| #3 Never posted on this site, but had to mention the Dutch. I was stationed in Mainz with the 509th Airborne Inf during the late 60's. They had us recreate the drop at Eindhoven. Just 20 or so of us.....we jumped from a C47, was that different from a 130 or 141.....Anyway, I have never, never, never, never, never ever been treated so nicely, or honored to be an American, than on that day, those older people were REALLY gratiful, in a restrained and honest way......too bad the people in this country, that hate this country so much, don't appreciate freedom.... |
| Posted by: Anonymous5066 2004-05-31 11:19:26 AM |
| #2 Yes. My father was one of 10 siblings - 9 brothers and 1 sister. Of the 10, 7 served in WWII, 6 brothers and the brother-in-law. (The 3 youngest were too young to enlist ... my father lied about his age to get in). Several stayed in as career NCOs, and one of the other 3 served in Korea. The youngest served in VietNam, along with the son of the 2nd oldest. All 7 came home, but not unscathed. One uncle was in the first wave of paratroopers at Normandy and came home held together with steel pins. My father's plane was shot down in the south Pacific near the end of the fighting there, and he came home in a body cast ... until he died, he regularly had recurrances of some tropical fever from time to time. It never occurred to him to claim disability. My uncle Lefty (also my godfather) was wounded twice and won 3 Silver Star awards. None of them talked much about their service - they did what needed doing at the time, that was all. I'm very very grateful to them all. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-05-31 7:15:26 AM |
| #1 I told my little story about my Dutch journey a few days ago but may I say again. I was thanked by a dutch mother, who was a child at the time, for American kick ass. You guys are going fast and I'm in awe. Thanks again and again and again and again. Did I say thanks, thank you. Oh what the hell. A repeat story. Memorial Day moment. My dad was on a troop ship bound for the Philippines, Dec 7th, must have been a pretty night on the open seas. But Japan did their thing and his ship was diverted to Aussieland. Lucky for me. Had he shipped out a few days earlier, no Lucky! Thanks dad, your gone and I'm Lucky. We're all Lucky! And you guys that are doing the tough stuff, Thanks! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-05-31 2:01:07 AM |