Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How the Dutch remember.

I have posted this before, but thought it would be appropriate to do it again this Memorial Day weekend.

Despite what the MSM tries to force us to believe, we are much more alike than different.

https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/m...-names-american-wwii-soldiers/2014/12/20

"On the gently sloping hills of the souhternmost point of the Netherlands, lies the beautfully landscaped “Netherlands American Cemetery.”

It is the only American cemetery in the country and often named “Margraten,” after the nearby village. Here rest 8,301 American servicemen and -women who were killed in action during World War II. On the Walls of the Missing are 1,722 names of those who are still missing in action. Althogether 10,023 Americans who gave their lives for liberty and democracy in Europe, 157 of them Marylanders, 531 from California.

Many who rest here gave their lives during the last stages of the war, like Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, the battles for the Huertgen Forest and the Rhineland, or in the bomber raids over Germany. Initially “Margraten” Cemetery counted 17,000 graves, but after the war many remains were re-buried in the US, at the request of their families.

During the war citizens of Margraten helped to bury the fallen American soldiers, and to express their gratitude toward their liberators they started to “adopt” graves after the war. The citizens of Margraten visited the graves, brought flowers on Memorial Day and contacted the families in the US, to learn more about the fallen heroes who were buried so close to their village. The desire to adopt an American grave soon spread through the south-eastern parts of the Netherlands which were liberated by American forces, initially by the 30th Infantry Division and later by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions during “Operation Market Garden” (September 1944). Within two years all graves at “Margraten” were adopted, and for the past 70 years many graves remained in the hands of the same Dutch families, being passed on from one generation to the next, a wish that was sometimes even expressed in a last will.
IMG_2077

A Dutch father and his young daughter kneel and put flowers before ‘their’ grave (Craydon. S Brown, a fighter pilot from New York, killed on June 8, 1945). Visiting ‘Margraten’ is an almost sacred duty for many Dutch families, and in time this young girl will probably take over this duty from her father and tell her children the story of this American pilot.

However, after all graves were adopted, many Dutch still wanted to adopt one, and a waiting list was the result, with little chance of ever becoming an adopter. So in 2008 a decision was made that also names on the Walls of the Missing could be adopted, an opportunity that was gratefully seized by many Dutch. And now, six years later, some 1,400 names on the Walls of the Missing at “Margraten” are adopted too.

Being an adopter of a grave or name brings obligations. One is expected to search and contact the family in the US, to gather information about the adopted soldier and to contribute to the special website that was created to commemorate every American serviceman of -woman who is buried at “Margraten” or whose name is there on the Walls of the Missing www.fallennotforgotten.nl

During Memorial Day weekend “Margraten” cemetery is visited by a steady stream of Dutch families, the young and the old, bringing flowers and attending the ceremonies. Sometimes they are accompanied by family members of the soldier whose grave they adopted. Or, if they are lucky, by one of the few remaining American veterans who are still instant heroes in the Netherlands, wherever they go: admired by the young and bringing tears to the eyes of the elder. For these are the men who saved the lives of many and brought us liberty and democracy after almost five years of suffering and tyranny.
A Dutch family, under way to bring flowers to their adopted grave.

A Dutch family, under way to bring flowers to their adopted grave.

In 2015 the “Margraten” adoption program will exist for 70 years, and special celebrations are planned that will be attended by some 60 family members from the US, all members of the AWON (American WWII Orphans Network), which has close ties with the “Margraten” adoption foundation.

During the past years the succes of the “Margraten” adoption program has expanded to two nearby cemeteries in Belgium, “Henri Chapelle American Cemetery” (83 from Maryland and 361 Californians) and “Ardennes American Cemetery” (83 Marylanders and 358 Californians). This was done by Belgian citizens and families who followed the Dutch example to honor and commemorate the fallen Americans, but also by Dutch who developed an interest in military history and who wanted to link the graves and stories of American soldiers who were in combat together. “Henri Chapelle” is situated a few miles south of “Margraten,” just beyond the Netherlands-Belgium border.

It is the final resting place of 7,992 Americans and it has a Wall of the Missing with 450 names. The “Ardennes” cemetery is close to the city of Liège. It is the resting place of 5.323 Americans and it has a Wall of the Missing with 463 names. This cemetery is close to the battlefields where the “Battle of the Bulge” was fought during the harsh and cold winter of 1944-45 (from December 16, 1944-January 25, 1945). Detailed information about these three cemeteries can be found on the magnificent website of the American Battle Monuments Commission

And Dutch volunteers have now joined efforts to set up a foundation and a website that will collect all available information about every American man and woman who rest at these three cemeteries, or whose name is on the Walls of the Missing.

For these heroes must be remembered and honored forever."

God Bless.

Have seen this before, quite a few times.

And it's more than appropriate to repost it.
Every Memorial Day!

Very nice! So different to see people that we sacrificed to free be appreciative as opposed to those we sacrificed to free who just bitch about not enough being done for them now.

Very kind and classy on there part.

Yup.

And may God bless the Netherlanders who keep the tradition alive.

I've been to the British cemetery near Arnhem where the Paras from Operation Market Garden are buried. It's a very solemn and moving place...

God bless all those young boys and girls turned into men and woman overnight and may they rest in eternal peace for keeping us a free people.

I was fortunate to have had a neighbor who was a glider trooper who served in Normandy, Holland and Operation Varsity. He took his wife on a return trip to visit the places he had served. The Dutch treated him like the returning hero that he was.
The French...

... not so much.

At least the Dutch understand and respect those that made the ultimate sacrifice. It’s a damn shame that many in this country don’t have a scintilla of respect or reverence for our heroes. Many of our citizens have grown fat on their own self-worship and can’t see beyond their own selfishness. The old adage about “those that fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” seems quite appropriate here.

We live in a state that has, over time, become dominated by democrats. It didn’t used to be like this but a few heavily populated cities have changed the political landscape here and those cities dictate their liberal ideology in an otherwise conservative state. We choose to live in an area that tends to be more conservative which means the people around here still love God, Family and Country. Our children, through their school, go to the local cemeteries every Memorial Day and place flags on the graves of our fallen heroes. They line the streets with flags and the elementary schools have an assembly where they sing each branch’s “song”. Men and women from all branches of the military are present and the children present each of them with a “gift”, a token of their appreciation. They even sing songs that reference God and they do so loudly, proudly and unapologetically. It’s refreshing to see a public school that is bucking the norm and teaching the kids that loving our country and honoring our veterans is NOT something to be ashamed of but rather it’s worthy of being filled with PRIDE! I wish this practice was so common as to not be worthy of writing about. Unfortunately many schools are going in the opposite direction and as a result of this pathetic paradigm shift many kids don’t have a clue as to the real cost of freedom.

May God hold our fallen heroes close and may we as a nation never forget the sacrifice they made so that we might live free. I also pray that God heals our nation so that we might once again turn our hearts and minds toward him.

Dutch;
Good afternoon to you sir, thanks so much for sharing that moving story with us on the Memorial Day weekend.

In my personal experience the Dutch people were absolutely wonderful to us when we visited there in the mid '70's as soon as they found out we were Canadians.

While I'm cognizant that Memorial Day is a US holiday to remember vets who didn't make it home, if I may I'll share another quick story about the Dutch people which pertains to Canadian vets, but please know in doing so I mean no disrespect to US vets who fought beside the Canadians to liberate Holland.

Two of my wife's uncles - two of three boys - were involved directly in the liberation of Holland, Uncle Mervin a forward artillery observer and Uncle Leroy a tail gunner on a Lancaster. Both jobs had an incredibly low life expectancy but incredibly both beat the odds and made it back.

Anyways Dutch, a coworker of mine was travelling through Holland in the early '90's and related the following.

She and her boyfriend were in a bar owned by a fairly young fellow who they began chatting with. Upon finding out that her father was in the Canadian Armed Forces and was in the fighting to liberate Holland, the young man told them, "Your money is no good for use here. Whatever you want on the menu or from the bar is on me. If the young men like your father hadn't fought and died here, my grandparents wouldn't have lived and I wouldn't be here"

I always thought that was pretty amazing considering a half century had passed, but we hear stories like that about the Dutch folks still, which speaks well of how they're taught their own history.

All the best to you this Memorial Day weekend sir.

Dwayne

WOW... still nice people in the world.

Moving story, well done. Quite a contrast with the French, eh?

I want to visit Margraten again, and will try.

AcesNeights - - thanks for your excellent post. I well understand that situation in WA - and share in your prayers.

Thanks for posting Dutch

Dwayne, thank you, but heroes aren't slighted by the acts of other heroes, they celebrate them.

I have also posted this story before of the liberation of the town of Zwolle, 20 miles from where I was born and raised, by Canadian Leo Major. When you read the story, you may find a better understanding of the respect for the Canadian liberators in the Northern Provinces.

From your CBC:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/leo-major-montreal-zwolle-nazis-1.4660487

On the evening of April 14, 1945, Canadian soldier Léo Major single-handedly liberated the Dutch town of Zwolle from the Nazis, in a story that's almost too incredible to be true.

The late Major is the only Canadian ever to receive a Distinguished Conduct Medal in two separate wars – for service in the Second World War and Korea – but his heroic actions didn't inspire any parades or effigies back home.

Major's own son, Daniel-Aimé Major, didn't have a clue what his father had done until an official from the Netherlands arrived on the family's doorstep 30 years later, bearing words of gratitude.

Daniel-Aimé was nine at the time, and remembered his mother asking his father why he never mentioned the incident.

His father replied that Major didn't think anyone would believe him, and left it at that.

"It's almost nonsense," Daniel-Aimé said with a laugh, when asked about his father's feats of bravery recently on CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

"He said, 'I was crazy, and everything turned out good!'"
Léo Major, left, is celebrated to this day in the Dutch town of Zwolle, for his heroic actions in liberating the town from the German occupation in the Second World War. (Léo Major: Le Fantôme Borgne/Radio-Canada)

By the time he got to Zwolle, Major was already scarred by war.

He only had one good eye following a close call with a phosphorous grenade, and he sported an eye patch for the rest of the war, refusing to be taken out of the fight and sent home.

As his son tells it, when officials told him that his part in the war was over, he replied: "'No, it's not over. I'm a sniper. I only need one eye.'"

On that fateful day in April 1945, Major, a private at the time, volunteered to sneak into the town under the cover of darkness and reconnoitre, accompanied by his friend in the forces, Cpl. Willy Arsenault.
The documentary, Léo Major: Le Fantôme Borgne, collected previously unseen archival images of Major. (Léo Major: Le Fantôme Borgne/Radio-Canada)
Chasing the Nazis out

Arsenault was killed early on in the mission, and in his grief and rage, Major decided to do something unthinkable.

He took his comrade's firearms and munitions and charged the city, alone. His exploits are in a new documentary that aired last month on Radio-Canada.

Zwolle, located about 100 kilometres east of Amsterdam, was then a town of 50,000, but it didn't take Major long to locate a German soldier and disarm him.

He spoke to the soldier in French, employing a risky gambit that ultimately paid off.

Major managed to convince the German soldier that the town was surrounded by Canadian troops, and that if the Germans left right away, they would be spared.

He let the Nazi soldier go to relay the message and gave him back his gun as a sign of good faith.
Major with his wife, Pauline de Croiselles. (Submitted by Daniel-Aimé Major)

Fearing his bluff would not stick, Major started to run through the streets of Zwolle firing his machine gun and setting off grenades.

As if this wasn't enough, Major located the Gestapo headquarters and set the building on fire.

He also took dozens of German prisoners, with the help of some local resistance fighters.

"It's such a crazy story, it's almost surreal," said Daniel-Aimé.

It's a story that his father never spoke of, until the messages of gratitude from the Dutch town began to pour in.
A lasting legacy

The family discovered that there was, and still is, a street named for Major in Zwolle, and when he passed away several years ago, Dutch nationals made the trip across the ocean to attend the service.

"It was really strange for me to see that," Daniel-Aimé said on Daybreak.

"There were citizens from the Netherlands, and there was a general from the Netherlands and the mayor [of Zwolle] was there too."
Daniel-Aimé Major, left, with his father Léo Major, right, just before his death. (Submitted by Daniel-Aime Major )

The gestures to honour Major don't end there. In the documentary, Henk Jan Meijer, the mayor of Zwolle, said the liberation story is still taught in schools in the area.

"For us as a city, it's very important that our children still remember that it's not easy to be free. That it's vulnerable. That you always have to think about that," he said.

"The most important lessons are when veterans come into the school, and they tell their story."

The mayor said that Major visited several times after the war, and became very popular with locals.

"He was the first Canadian who walked through the streets of Zwolle," said Jan Meijer. "We honour Léo Major. He is a symbol of our freedom."

He said there's even a monument to Major's fallen comrade, Willy Arsenault.
'Rambo' of Quebec
One place where Major's name was never quite forgotten is inside the Musée Régiment de la Chaudière in Lévis.
Daniel-Aimé Major's family visiting Zwolle, under his father's street sign. (Submitted by Daniel-Aime Major)

The museum's director, Éric Marmen, referred to Major as the "Rambo of Quebec," saying that the story is so wild that it could almost be dismissed as an exaggerated version of events.

"But then we realize that the information checks out," he said in the documentary.

A number of historians and archivists have researched the events that took place that April night, 73 years ago.

The story of Léo Major is gaining recognition in Quebec, and abroad.
At a recent football game in the Netherlands, fans unveiled a banner featuring Canadian soldier Léo Major, declaring him the "sole saviour of Zwolle."
At a recent football game in the Netherlands, fans unveiled a banner featuring Canadian soldier Leo Major, declaring him the 'sole saviour of Zwolle,' a small city about 100 kilometres east of Amsterdam. (FEU Zwolle/Twitter)

Dennis Akkermann, a member of the Zwolle football team's fan club, told CBC News that they often make banners in support of their team and their city.

"The banner of Léo Major, of course, is also a part of that," he said. "We [wanted to] make a banner to honour him for what he has done for our city."

Akkermann hopes that Major's family understands that "even the younger people in Zwolle are very grateful for what he was done for our city."

July of 2016 I was pushing my bicycle down Omaha Beach after visiting the impeccably kept cemetery there (same one featured in Saving Private Private Ryan). An elderly French gentleman, seeing my loaded touring bicycle came over to engage me in conversation.

I told him I had come to see the invasion beaches, “not invasion” he corrected me, “liberation”.

What I found interesting at Arnhem and Omaha Beach were the school groups taking tours. These seemed to be mainly middle school age. They were all quiet and respectful.

Danke je wel.

Thanks, Dutch.