A tiny urn of ashes bearing only the inscription, Soldier of Orange will solemnly be carried from an aeroplane at Amsterdam airport on Thursday. For Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who is rumoured to have planned a royal reception, it will be a poignant moment: the return to his native soil of the remains of Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, Holland's most heroic and decorated Second World War resistance fighter.
The death of Roelfzema, 90, announced yesterday, has saddened a nation and reminded the world of the brave opponents of the Nazis who risked everything in the struggle for their people's freedom.
Queen Beatrix expressed ''great sadness" and Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, described Roelfzema as ''a great patriot and a very special person".
He died last week at his home in Honoka'a in Hawaii, where he had lived since 1973.
It was Roelfzema, known in Holland as the Soldier of Orange because of his close links to the Royal Family, who piloted the plane that brought the Queen's late parents, Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard, out of exile and back to Holland after the war. And it was he who accompanied the then seven-year-old Princess Beatrix as she took her first footstep on to her newly liberated homeland. He served at one stage as an adjutant to the House of Orange and it is widely believed that Prince Bernhard was resentful of Roelfzema's close relationship with Queen Juliana.
Roelfzema's wartime exploits are the stuff of legend. He wrote an autobiography, called Soldaat van Oranje, which was turned into a Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated film by Paul Verhoeven.
In the book, Roelfzema revealed how, as a student when Germany invaded Holland, he survived a bloody firefight with Nazi soldiers and smuggled himself to Britain. Once here, he took part in a series of daring raids to deliver radio equipment to Holland and bring back fellow resistance fighters. In the early 1940s he joined the Royal Air Force, flying for the Pathfinders, whose role was to illuminate targets for Bomber Command.
Yet before war broke out in 1939, Roelfzema was an unlikely patriot. A spoiled and lacklustre schoolboy, he struggled to win a place at Leiden University and, once there, Roelfzema paid scant attention to his studies. Instead he concentrated on drinking with friends.
When hostilities started in 1939 Roelfzema supposed that Holland would remain neutral as it had during the First World War. Once it became clear that this was not to be the case, he swiftly developed strong loyalties to his country. He joined up but almost immediately the Nazis occupied Holland. Roelfzema and several friends smuggled themselves on board a boat to Britain.
Once in London, he set up a secret service group, called the Mews after Chester Square Mews, with the leaders of the Dutch Central Intelligence Agency and the Secret Intelligence Service. Their goal was to establish links with the Dutch resistance by parachuting in agents. Roelfzema undertook dangerous missions, managing to drop dozens of fighters on the beaches of Noordwijk and Scheveningen.
His courage was never in question but Roelfzema's volatile temperament and single-minded stubbornness often landed him in trouble. He was threatened with court martial for countermanding orders but the matter was dropped when he was awarded the Willemsorde, Holland's highest military decoration, for bravery. Before long Roelfzema became frustrated with the cloak and dagger tactics and joined the RAF. He trained to fly in Canada, passing out as the best cadet in his squadron. Roelfzema joined the Pathfinder Force with whom he -carried out 72 missions 25 of them to Berlin.
In April 1945, he was appointed adjutant to Queen Juliana, which led to his triumphant return to Holland with the Royal Family. But before long he became restless, finding it difficult to acclimatise to civilian life. Roelfzema moved to Hollywood, enticed by the notion of becoming a film star, but his acting career came to nothing.
He became involved with the Racing Team Holland motor sports group and, in 1970, published his autobiography. Verhoeven made it into a film seven years later, casting a then-unknown Rutger Hauer in the title role. Roelfzema and Hauer became lifelong friends. When the actor heard of Roelfzema's death he described him as a ''heroic and patriotic man." Hauer said he was: ''My second father, my friend and my mentor." 
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