While California is still in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the Herdenking 2020 is still being planned. This page will be updated with the latest information as the situation develops. Updated 4/14/2020 8:30 pm. COMMEMORATION CEREMONY HERDENKINGS CEREMONIE Presented by the Comite 15 Augustus 1945 August 15, 2020 at 10:00 AM Los Angeles National…
Speech: Inez Hollander, Photos: William Lee, January, 2020, San Francisco, CA, USA On January 13th, 2020, Antonie Heystek (sergeant in the Dutch East Indies Colonial Army and member of the militia in Eastern Java during WWII), received a posthumous Mobilization War Cross from Consul General Gerbert Kunst at the Dutch Consulate in San Francisco. The…
by Han Mouthaan FOREWORD For clarification purposes: The Dutch civilians of the former Dutch East Indies endured two types of camps during AND after WWII. The first type were the WWII Japanese concentration camps, 1942-1945. The second type of camps were internment camps during the Bersiap period 1945-1947, a tumultuous time that followed the end…
By Jan Krancher Book: Ambushed under the Southern Cross Author: Capt. George W. Duffy Highly decorated Capt. George W. Duffy has authored the book “Ambushed under the Southern Cross . . . The Making of an American Merchant Marine Officer and His Ensuing Saga of Courage and Survival”. Among several of his experiences, he also…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert USS Wichita (CA-45) Ship’s Chief Petty Officers listen to the radio broadcast of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to the Congress requesting a declaration of War against the Axis powers, circa 8 December 1941. Note phograph of President Roosevelt on the bulkhead. The Good and the Bad They’re in the same…
By Sylvia Boon Couto, daughter Name: William Boon Born: December 17, 1917, Java, Dutch East Indies Died: June 10, 2011, California, USA POW: Camp Tjimahi, West Java, Nov 20 , 1942 camp 4e Bataljon The Early Years Dad was born on December 17, 1917 on the island of Java, Indonesia to a…
By Jan Krancher, California, USA Overview of the Japanese Imprisonment Experience The Japanese High Command on Java attempted to coerce the Indo-European members of the former Royal Netherlands-Indies Army, Navy and Air Force to enlist in the Japanese army. A goodly number of Indos who refused were summarily executed and many ended up in…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert, USA Heroes are lost in the annals of history. Doc Hekking and the incredible bond with his fellow POW’s is an inspirational story that awaits rediscovery in the Indo community and beyond. The boys from America Overshadowed by America’s presence in the Phillipines and Japan, the role of Americans in…
By Joyce Kater, New Mexico, USA LITTLE MOMENTS OF HUMANITY AT WARTIME Although this incident happened a lifetime ago in the Second World War in South East Asia, it still lingers in my memory. It took place in the months before our family was torn apart and put in different Japanese concentration camps on Java…
By Robert Vanderwaall, nephew Name: Pieter Hendrik van der Waall Born: July 3, 1921 Dutch East Indies Died: July 5, 1993 Zoetermeer, Netherlands POW: Thai-Burma Railway Pieter Hendrik van der Waall July 3, 1921 to July 5, 1993. He was the brother of my father Charles. During the war he was a mechanic…