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…
By Tamara Fielding, New York, USA ADEK CAMP – BATAVIA (Jakarta) – August 1945 My mother was clairvoyant. She always seemed to know things before they happened and had telling dreams. News had penetrated Adek Camp that the Japanese had lost the war and freedom was near. A rumor which we had heard before,…
By Maartien Van Genderen, Washington, USA Winds of change were unmistakably headed for my homeland, the island nation of the former Dutch East Indies. They came foreshadowed by foreboding events. The Netherlands, our fatherland, fell victim to the unbridled war of the expansion of Hitler’s Third Reich in May 1940. Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl…
By Frans Krajenbrink There was a lot of confusion in our neighborhood about what we were supposed to do. My grandpa went throughout the neighborhood to ask if people wanted to evacuate. Two families agreed to go; our next door neighbor Mr. and Mrs. Schwab and their daughter Ilse, and Mrs. Folkeringa and her four…
By Nicole Maureen Vanderwaall In the living room of a small American ranch-style house in suburban Phoenix, a little girl sat at her Grandma’s feet, munching on a cookie. She tilted her head back, looking imploringly up at the sweet, elderly woman who told such wonderful stories. “Grandma, tell me a story, please. I want…
By Patricia Tiber, Arizona, USA In September I took my annual trek to the Netherlands and decided to spend some time in Drenthe, a province I had never visited before. My request for exploring the ancient “Hunebedden,” (burial mounds-50 centuries’old megaliths); the old Saxon village of Orvelte with its straw-roofed farmhouses and the nearby town…
By Frans Krajenbrink, California, USA On May 10, 1940 Germany without warning invaded Holland The Dutch Army was no match for the German Army – the war lasted five days. Queen Wilhelmina and the Royal family escaped to Great Britain. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor…