PolWatch
05-04-2015, 06:29 AM
'Hendrikx writes that he grew up listening to stories about his country's liberation by the American 101st Airborne Division, which sparked his interest in the history of soldiers in Western Europe. '
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Every May for the past eight years, Sjaak Beerendonk has placed flowers at a grave near a little town in southeastern Netherlands. By May 5, the Netherlands' recognized Liberation Day from Nazi Germany, each of the 8,301 graves in the cemetery will be decorated with flowers — an incredible feat, considering the deceased have no relation to the Dutch locals.
Beerendonk is one of thousands who "adopt" and decorate the graves of fallen American soldiers at the Netherlands American Cemetery (http://www.adoptiegraven-margraten.nl/index.php/en/news-archive/78-netherlands-rolls-out-red-carpet-for-va-beach-family), one of several American cemeteries established across Europe after both World Wars.
This year Beerendonk hopes to connect with family members of his soldier, a 19-year-old Jefferson County man named James Williams.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/05/holland_man_searches_for_famil.html#incart_river
<snip>
Every May for the past eight years, Sjaak Beerendonk has placed flowers at a grave near a little town in southeastern Netherlands. By May 5, the Netherlands' recognized Liberation Day from Nazi Germany, each of the 8,301 graves in the cemetery will be decorated with flowers — an incredible feat, considering the deceased have no relation to the Dutch locals.
Beerendonk is one of thousands who "adopt" and decorate the graves of fallen American soldiers at the Netherlands American Cemetery (http://www.adoptiegraven-margraten.nl/index.php/en/news-archive/78-netherlands-rolls-out-red-carpet-for-va-beach-family), one of several American cemeteries established across Europe after both World Wars.
This year Beerendonk hopes to connect with family members of his soldier, a 19-year-old Jefferson County man named James Williams.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/05/holland_man_searches_for_famil.html#incart_river