(June 1, 2017) Ocean Pines resident Roelof “Dutch” Oostveen recently visited the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in his native country to honor the people who helped to liberate his small village more than 70 years ago during World War II.
He plans to return there next year and has an offer for anyone reading this article: if your is family buried there, Oostveen will visit them.
The only American military cemetery in The Netherlands is situated in the southeast region of the country six miles from Masstricht on the main highway to Aachen, Germany.
Three months after Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, the U.S. First Army crossed Luxembourg, captured the city of Liege in Belgium and reached the German border, near Aachen.
British, Canadian and American forces coalesced near the border, but Axis defenses had stabilized at an area referred to as the Siegfried Line.
In September 1944, a conflict called “The Battle of Hürtgen Forest” took place there, claiming the lives of 24,000 American soldiers and about 9,000 additional noncombatant casualties.
The Battle of the Bulge followed in December, in an area just to the south, as the German army attempted a bloody last stand. British, Canadian and U.S. forces lost almost 140,000 soldiers during both conflicts.
American forces pursued the retreating German army through Germany and Austria in March 1945, and the Axis army in Europe officially surrendered on May 8.
The 65-acre Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial was built on a site liberated by soldiers from the U.S. 30th Infantry on Sept. 13, 1944. It was established on Nov.10, 1944 as one of the first dedicated to Americans who fell on German-occupied soil. More than 8,300 are laid to rest there.
“Every year when I go to Europe, I visit the cemetery in Limburg, where I came from,” Oostveen said. “There are four soldiers who were at my house who were buried there, so when I visit I put flowers [on their graves].”
He was about 10 years old when the conflict first reached his small village of Eygelshoven in Limburg Province.
“I’ll probably go back next year,” he said. “If there any people who have family buried there, I would be willing to put flowers on their grave so long as they tell me the lot number and the number.”
Oostveen, now 86, said his annual pilgrimage to the cemetery is extraordinarily meaningful to him. The Battle of the Bulge occurred close to his childhood home and he remembers watching trucks driving by carrying hundreds – or thousands – of fallen American soldiers.
“These guys liberated me from the Germans. That’s why, when I go home, I go to the cemetery and walk around for a few hours,” he said. “I’ll probably go back next year in May. If there is anybody who has a person [buried there] I would be willing to put down flowers.”
To contact Oostveen, call 410-208-1497.
He plans to return there next year and has an offer for anyone reading this article: if your is family buried there, Oostveen will visit them.
The only American military cemetery in The Netherlands is situated in the southeast region of the country six miles from Masstricht on the main highway to Aachen, Germany.
Three months after Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, the U.S. First Army crossed Luxembourg, captured the city of Liege in Belgium and reached the German border, near Aachen.
British, Canadian and American forces coalesced near the border, but Axis defenses had stabilized at an area referred to as the Siegfried Line.
In September 1944, a conflict called “The Battle of Hürtgen Forest” took place there, claiming the lives of 24,000 American soldiers and about 9,000 additional noncombatant casualties.
The Battle of the Bulge followed in December, in an area just to the south, as the German army attempted a bloody last stand. British, Canadian and U.S. forces lost almost 140,000 soldiers during both conflicts.
American forces pursued the retreating German army through Germany and Austria in March 1945, and the Axis army in Europe officially surrendered on May 8.
The 65-acre Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial was built on a site liberated by soldiers from the U.S. 30th Infantry on Sept. 13, 1944. It was established on Nov.10, 1944 as one of the first dedicated to Americans who fell on German-occupied soil. More than 8,300 are laid to rest there.
“Every year when I go to Europe, I visit the cemetery in Limburg, where I came from,” Oostveen said. “There are four soldiers who were at my house who were buried there, so when I visit I put flowers [on their graves].”
He was about 10 years old when the conflict first reached his small village of Eygelshoven in Limburg Province.
“I’ll probably go back next year,” he said. “If there any people who have family buried there, I would be willing to put flowers on their grave so long as they tell me the lot number and the number.”
Oostveen, now 86, said his annual pilgrimage to the cemetery is extraordinarily meaningful to him. The Battle of the Bulge occurred close to his childhood home and he remembers watching trucks driving by carrying hundreds – or thousands – of fallen American soldiers.
“These guys liberated me from the Germans. That’s why, when I go home, I go to the cemetery and walk around for a few hours,” he said. “I’ll probably go back next year in May. If there is anybody who has a person [buried there] I would be willing to put down flowers.”
To contact Oostveen, call 410-208-1497.