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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

Mr. Right
05-04-2015, 07:09 AM
The 101st were highly trained and were ferocious fighters. They're the outfit that the movie "Band of Brothers" was based upon.

PolWatch
05-04-2015, 07:10 AM
I was touched that the people of the Netherlands still honor American soldiers.

Common
05-04-2015, 07:13 AM
Yes thats heartwarming to know that some people actually still appreciate the sacrifice of the greatest generation

Mister D
05-04-2015, 08:23 AM
I was touched that the people of the Netherlands still honor American soldiers.

For a western country, the Nazis were pretty brutal in Holland. The Winter of 1944 was particularly rough on the Dutch.

CreepyOldDude
05-04-2015, 11:30 AM
I was touched that the people of the Netherlands still honor American soldiers.

One of the reasons I like the Netherlands so much.

Mister D
05-04-2015, 11:31 AM
One of the reasons I like the Netherlands so much.


There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.

:grin: