The unveiling of the monument took place on September 29th, 2018
at various locations. First there was a meeting at the Landhoeve:
Here the words of welcome from the
Mayor van der Borg (Molenwaard county):
Welcome to Colonel Scott C.Fisher of the Embassy of the
United States of
America, the Commander of the Dutch Air Force, Colonel Rab, our guests
from
America, dear ladies en gentlemen, boys and girls,
“The streets were
filled with people giving the 'V' for victory sign and
wondering when the
invasion was coming.” These words
wrote
Bill Yancy at November 17th, 2014 in the first pages of his book “We knew we were in for a long
day”. The
true story of a crash near the little village of Streefkerk. Bill
Yancy, was
the neighbor of bombardier/gunner O.D. Tully. This book give's the
best reasons to realize this memorial.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today is a very
special day. Thanks for the opportunity to speak to you all. A special
warm
welcome to our American guests. It’s a great honor to meet you.
You’re our
connection to those brave men who lost their lives or were kept as a
prisoner
after the crash of the B-17G ‘Mission Belle’ at the 1st of
December, 1943. I will continue my
speech in Dutch, knowing that there will be a translation in English.
Today, a part of our
history will be visible. Visibility helps us to keep our history alive.
It will
make sure that the conversations about those days will not be hushed.
It gives
us a place to go back to the Second World War. And to think about the
foundation of our democracy, our state of law. The basis for our
freedom was
then put in place. Among them who fought
for us, was also the crew of the B-17G ‘Mission Belle’.
Brave American men who
were flying back home after a brave mission over Leverkusen, where they
fought
far from home, for our freedom. They represented hope for many Dutch
people and
other Europeans who suffered a lot during this terrible war. People in
our Alblasserwaard
region, in our county Molenwaard, what later on will be renamed
Molenlanden.
People,
here and
elsewhere in our region, were witness of the B-17G making a crash,
after it got
damaged badly. On December 1st, 1943
the plane came down. Three of the crew didn’t survive
this. Their
names are:
1.
Harland V.
Sunde(1921-1943); the pilot
2.
D.C. (Doyle) McCutchen
(1921-1943); the gunner of the belly turret
3.
J.F. (John) Healy
(1914-1943); the tail gunner
The other men spend
the rest of the war in German prisoner of war camps. Their names
are: Carlton Josephson,
Charles Culver, Claudio Stefano Carano, William England, Roger
Christensen,
O.D. Tully and James Sweaney.
In a fragment of O.D.
Tully’s prisoner of war diary, he wrote: “I can’t
remember that I ever had it
so cold. I was hungry and felt miserably. Just two days from Christmas,
I felt
lonely and depressive. I was homesick and far away from home and no
contact
with my family and friends. When Christmas began, I experienced the
most
peaceful and happy days of my life. In this lonely, boring and insecure
situation, I realized what the full meaning of this day, the birth of
Prince of
Peace. Christmas of 1943 became unforgettable for me, invaluable.”
We remember today the
men who didn’t survive the crash and we think about the families
and friends
they left behind; you as next of kin. It’s a miracle that the
prisoners
returned home after the war, although they had deep wounds. It is
honorable
what they did.
It’s very special
what the Mission Belle Foundation accomplished to make a everlasting
memory. Since
the summer of 2016, the Mission Belle Foundation worked with passion
including
these spirited people: André Hoogendoorn, Evert de Bruijn,
Gwendolijne Verheij,
John Heuvelman, Kees Stam, Theo Jansen en Wim Hasman. John and Wim
wrote the
book Mission Belle, with eyewitness accounts by Kees Stam and edited by
Mrs. Ouweneel
– van Dam.
This book alone was a
landmark. With sponsoring, also from America, the sales of the book,
selling certificates,
big lobby’s for support in other frames, made it in early 2017
possible to
create a monument. After that came considerations with local
inhabitants and
other parties to make a fitting monument in a fitting environment. Many
volunteered to create the monument and this beautiful memorial, for
which we
are gathered here today. It’s the force of this beautiful
environment , where
working together can lead to the success of this charity.
The contact I had
personally about this initiative, the enthusiasm of every person, did
make a
huge impression on me. Great, non ending
efforts. The bridge we can build to the past today is made possible by
many
people.
The society of Nieuw-Lekkerland/Streefkerk
and Lekkerkerk and other people and businesses got involved during the
preparation. History brought to live again. Young and old work
together. Just
as they did on December 1st, 1943.
It’s special to stand
in front of you. A landmark anno 2018 in the presence of those, for
which
history left deep wounds. They who made our peace possible . Our peace
and
freedom are not self-evident. We also look ahead today. To our youths,
who will
keep the memory alive and today through the school ‘De
Wegwijzer’ that will
play an important part. Boys and girls, tell in the future about this
history
and the importance of peace.
I thank you for your
tireless effort, making special contacts, the perseverance to get to
where we
are today.
We are going to
unveil the monument. You shall be impressed by the way the story of the
‘Mission
Belle’ is portrayed. A memorial full of symbolism. On a unique
spot at the Lekdijk,
close to where the former bar ‘The Little Swan’ was. A
historical place. That
many will find the way to this monument. And to experience in the
silence of
this environment that freedom and peace a task is for everyone. And
that’s
living together in unity. Whether you live in America or in the
Alblasserwaard
region.
Here the speech of André
Hoogendoorn, chairman of the Mission Belle Foundation:
Dear
attendees,
It’s a great pleasure and honor
for me to tell you something about the monument that will be unveiled
today. A monument to remember the
emergency landing, that had to be made by an American B-17G bomber. It
happened
after been shot by German anti-aircraft guns and fighters. The
crash of this B-17G, the ‘Mission
Belle’, happened on December 1st, 1943 in the Lek river, near our
town Nieuw-Lekkerland.
It will be
75 years ago, over 2 months. You, as next of kin of the crew,
knows this history better than me.
My
speech has the title “Let’s not forget”. I want to tell you about these
three points:
1.
The reason why we worked so hard for this monument.
2.
The background of why we worked so hard for this
monument.
3.
the symbolism of this monument.
The factual reason to think about
the history of December 1st, 1943 is the book with the title
“We
knew we were in for a long day”. This book has been written in
2013 by the
American Bill Yancy.
Yancy was the neighbor of O.D. Tully,
the bombardier / gunner aboard the ‘Mission Belle’ and one
of the survivors. Our mayor, mr. Dirk van den Borg got this book when a monument was
unveiled in Giessenburg
on May 2nd, 2014. It was this book that made
mayor van
den Borg decide, during a personal conversation with Kees Stam, our
member and
project leader, to do something with this history.
Also the current members of the
foundation, John Heuvelman and Wim Hasman, were busy to find everything
out
about this history. And they also thought that something had to be done
with
this. Through the contacts between
mayor Dirk van der Borg, Kees Stam
and our treasurer Theo Jansen, these
people came together and the initiative started to begin a foundation
with as
goal to keep this history alive. Remembering, but also
honoring
the crew that did everything for our freedom.
Why now, 75 years after it
happened, to create a monument? The answer to that question is pretty
simple. We
live here in Europe, in The Netherlands for almost 75 years in peace.
Without
war or any threat of it. You could think that’s
normal. Especially
for my generation and younger, who never experienced a war. If
we look around the world
today, it’s not so self-evident that we should
enjoy a life of freedom, despite race, religion or sexual
orientation. This freedom is not known in many
countries. There are so many refugees today more than ever. And a
united Europe
is also not so self-evident and the alliances of this continent are
under
pressure. Just because of that we should
“not forget”. We should realize it every day, that our
freedom was fought for
heavily and at high cost. Often by Young people from other countries
like America,
England and Canada.
Also by the ‘Mission Belle’ crew.
Freedom asks for responsibility. Responsibility as it
is written and by action. Freedom of expression also means
that you shouldn’t say everything. That you shouldn’t have
to think about what
you are going to say and what the effect of your words will be. That
we can live here in freedom,
thanks to the action of young people from other countries, gives us a
moral
responsibility. A moral responsibility to help
other people, when they are in trouble. Even if they are not
Dutch.
The
monument we are unveiling today, reminds us of an event in 1943, that happened
in our own surroundings/in our town.
An event that made an impression on our own
community. We, as board, are convinced that
the memory of such a impressive local event will help us to keep the
remembrance
of the war years alive. It will help us as well that
freedom is not self-evident.
At the end, something about the symbolism
of the monument. When we, as a board thought about how the monument
should look
like, one thing was obvious. It should be very clear,
in one
look at it, where this monument should remind us of. And we think
we succeeded. The monument is made of 3 granite
columns with a model of the ‘Mission Belle’ added to it.
The model is made of
several layers to give it a good three dimensional look. The model is based on drawings of
the American B-17G bomber and is given the characterizations of the
‘Mission
Belle’. On every of the three granite
columns is a photo with the personal information of one of the three
men,
killed during the fight in the air or when the plane crashed. On
the top of these columns a
fracture which symbolizes that the life of these three young men got
broken.
The plane came down near the jetty
in the Lek river. That’s why the model of the B-17G is installed
on the columns,
with the nose of the plane in the direction of the Lek river. If
you drive from here to the monument,
it looks like the plane will fly into the river. The
base of the monument is finished
with basalt stones, so this part of the monument looks a lot like the
jetty where
‘Mission Belle’ came down. This location of
the monument is chosen,
so when you stand in front of it and look at it , you can see the exact
location
where the crash took place.
To stay in the mood of the jetty,
we put 4 big rocks in front of the monument with information boards on
it, with
the photo’s and personal information of all 10 crew members. On these information boards we have
also put a short description of this history. So
everybody who passes this monument
by can see this history.
I told you in the beginning that we
want to keep this history alive. Well, I can tell you
that this story
is really alive! We, as a board, did get so many positive reactions,
when we were
working with this monument, and so much cooperation. It’s really incredible. No matter where we asked for help,
at authorities, at businesses, at clubs, at the people who live nearby
the monument,
but I can say in the entire region. Everywhere were enthusiastic
reactions. It’s something, we as a board should be thankful
for.
I told you something about the reason,
the background and the symbolism of the monument. My
story should be summarized in this
message:
Let’s not
forget,
·
To honor everybody who fought for our freedom and the
many who have given
the ultimate sacrifice.
·
And, to realize that freedom is not self-evident, but
asks for responsibility.
Thank you.
Here the speech of eye-witness Pleun
de Groot:
It was December 1st,
1943. I was 8 years old. We were between 1 and 2 o’clock of the
afternoon with
three persons in the cow barn. We heard the loud roaring of plane
engines. It was a bomber, shot to pieces,
coming from the west and flew very low over our farm. A German fighter
followed
the bomber, shooting it. Several bullet casings fell down on the yard
near the
farm. The 20 cows didn’t know how to react; they howled terribly.
They were
very upset. It seemed to be a miracle that the bomber didn’t
crash on the farm.
I saw it through the windows of the cow barn, dropping very quickly.
The plane
went down into the Lek river.
The rescue started. At
night, the survivors were taken prisoner by the Germans and brought
away. Also
these people, our friends, who with thousands of others, fought for our
freedom
against the Germans. That’s why we are here on September 29th,
2018, to
remember that with the family and friends from America. I thank you
for that.
In 1954, Frank Pot of
‘de Koophandel’ demolition firm wanted to lift up the
plane. With a hoist and a
knot around an engine of the plane. The motor broke off the wing and
the plane sank
back into the depth of the river. The motor with the propeller was
thrown in
the reeds. Together with other boys we could spin the propeller around
I have been in military
service as well in 1955, and lucky enough didn’t experience war.
So far, that’s
seems to be a miracle from God, as we think about war in the
Middle-East and in
so many other countries. In Margraten are more than 8.000 American
soldiers
buried. Also the two men who drowned near Nieuw-Lekkerland, during the
rescue
efforts. They died in the struggle for freedom. Their sacrifice was not
in
vain, because the victory was ours.
Let us close with the
Bible, God’s words about Job: ‘The Lord has given, the Lord
has taken, the name
of the Lord be praised.’
Dear friends, I will end
my speech now. Get
back home very well. I thank you.
Here the speech of eye-witness Anton den Ouden:
As a nine year old
boy, I was fishing on December 1st, 1943 in the Lek river, near the
Schoonzicht
bar. Suddenly I got
startled by very low flying planes, shooting at each other in
pursuit. I quickly took cover
under some steel masts of ships, who were stored near the river.
I went back to the
side of the river, to see where they went. They disappeared out
of sight, and I only heard some noise and shooting from the other side
of the
river. So I picked up my
fishing-rod and started fishing again.
But they came back,
flying lower and with more noise, so I took cover again under the
masts. When the planes past
by, I quickly took a look, until they disappeared when they were near
the “Van
Duijvendijk” ship yard. I didn’t see the
bomber anymore, but the small fighter was still flying around.
I quickly took my
fishing-rod and went home with wet pants on. There came the bad
news, my mother didn’t allow me to go fishing in the River again.
Here the speech of Paul
Josephson, son of the left flank gunner of the plane:
My family and I would like to thank the
Mission Belle, B-17G Memorial Foundation for making this day possible. We would like to recognize John Heuvelman and
the Foundation Board of Directors, the people of Nieuw-Lekkerland and
Lekkerkerk who rescued the crew, the businesses and people whose
contributions
made this memorial possible and Bill Yancy, whose work and resources
told the
story of the Mission Belle.
It’s amazing that nearly 75 years later we
are honoring the crew of the Mission Belle; especially when many of us
knew
none or only one of the ten men. What we
all have in common though is an appreciation of and respect for the
commitment
that these outstanding men made.
I would like to share with all of you a poem
written as an in-class assignment by Isabel Brush, waist gunner Carlton
Josephson’s great-granddaughter. Isabel was born four months
after he died and
was 11 years old when she wrote the poem.
I believe this poem sums up how we all feel about the men of the
Mission
Belle.
My
Soldier
I never knew my soldier,
But I wish he was mine
He was my great grandfather,
It makes my mother cry
He did not die in war,
But he got shot down
He was captured and
Brought to some strange town
He was starved and beat
They treated him bad
I have only heard stories,
But it makes me feel so sad
My mother was
thinking about
Joining in too,
He wouldn’t let her
Cause of all he’s been through
I never knew my soldier,
I feel that he is mine
He was good to all of us
It makes my mother cry
I’m sure Dad and the rest of the crew would be
humbled, proud and thankful that you gracious people chose to honor
them! Thank you all, and may God bless you.
Here the speech of Gabriel Aguirre,
grandson of the sister of pilot Harland Sunde:
Good afternoon everyone,
My name is Gabe, and I am extremely honored to
speak on behalf of our family, in honor of our families hero, Capt.
Harland
Vernon Sunde, Capt. Of the Mission Belle.
We feel very blessed to be able to share this
moment with all of you, and especially the family members of the crew
of the
Mission Belle. Our family is very
grateful for the opportunity to celebrate and remember the lives of
these 3 men
who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.
Men who personified the epitome of what was, and will always be,
the
greatest generation.
In our family, we have had numerous
discussions about what life may have been like had Harland come home
from the
war. I know for sure he would have been
the greatest role model our family could have ever had.
Our grandmother would tell us about his
entrepreneurial spirit as he opened a small storefront at the age of 18
in the
small town of Alberta MN. And of course his love and fascination of
flying. One of my grandmothers earlier
memories is her mother explaining that at a very young age Harland
would cross
his fingers and pretend to fly as he tried to say
“airplane”. Harland was born
to fly, and he did it well!. My
grandmother always took comfort in the
fact that he was able to do the one thing he loved most, and that was
to fly.
We as a family, also feel very gratified in
the way he impacted so many other lives in his short time here. Two powerful quotes from the book “We knew
we
where in for a long day” that will always stand out to us are
first, when OD
Tully called Harland “The gamest and greatest guy I’ve ever
known”. And from Roger Christensen’s letter to my
grandmother in which he quoted Harland as saying “I would give my
life to save
the rest of the fellows in the crew” and “I would die if I
knew that the war
would end that much sooner”.
These quotes are not just words on a piece of
paper, these words are a piece of Harland’s legacy brought forth
to us as a
gift from the men that knew him best. It is truly remarkable and makes
us
realize the impact he really had, and although we wish we would have
had the
chance to have him in our lives, we can’t help but feel a sense
of pride knowing
the kind of man he was, and the way he lived his life, which was very
indicative of the greatest generation.
Myself, my grandmother Dolores Wrobel back
home in St. Paul MN, my mother Ero, and brother Roman would like to
first off thank
God for allowing us the opportunity to share this joyous day together. We would like to thank everyone here in
attendance, thank you so much for
supporting
and enjoying this moment. We would like
to especially thank all the family members of Harland’s crew that
made the trip
from the U.S.. Dolores, Harland’s
sister
sends her warmest regards to all of you, she is still happy and healthy
at the
age of 91. We would like to give great thanks to the family who has
tended to
Harland’s grave all these years, immense gratitude goes to you. Of course we would like to thank the
committee for organizing this event and bringing us all together, we
definitely
appreciate keeping the memory alive! Finally we would like to thank all
the
people of the Netherlands, but mainly these two communities of
Lekkerkerk and
Nieuw-Lekkerland for all your hospitality, but also for your towns
actions, in the quest for freedom, during the
event that unfolded that day
Dec. 1st 1943.
Thank you so much, and God Bless!
Here the speech of Colonel Fisher of
the U.S. Air Force and Militairy Attaché of the U.S.
Embassy:
Mayor,
ladies and gentlemen, dear children, good morning!
I am honored to be with you all. This is a very special occasion. In
order to make sure I speak with the precision worthy of this event and
that all
our honored guests will understand, I will continue in English.
I
would first like to express my deepest appreciation for the families of
the
brave crew of the Mission Belle who we honor today. Thank
you for following the flightpath of your fathers, grandfathers and
uncles who came
from towns across the United States to serve with courage in foreign
lands,
including this beautiful country. If
you want to know how small the world is, several of these family
members whom I
just met went to school in the same small town in East Texas where I
grew up
called Nacogdoches. That is almost as
hard to say as Scheveningen.
Seven
of these crew members endured captivity and hardship and three of these
crew
members ultimately sacrificed everything, so we can enjoy the freedoms
so
abundant to us today. Each
year we have ever fewer persons who can share first-hand accounts of
what the
veterans did here almost 75 years ago like we heard today. Sadly,
it is
easy to see the war, though not so distant in time, as very distant
from the concerns
that preoccupy us on a daily basis.
Let
me tell each of the American families gathered here today that the
Dutch have
not forgotten. They have chosen not to
forget. To each of our Dutch friends
here today, your commitment to preserve the collective memory of the
war,
including the unveiling of this memorial, is inspiring. I
have attended many wartime commemorations during my two and a half
years in the
Netherlands, including approximately 12 during the last two weeks for
Operation
Market Garden. Some of the locations
were small and some were large, yet despite the pouring rain, thousands
of
Dutch gathered to honor the sacrifices of the veterans of the United
States and
her Allies.
The
memory of these that will remain strongest for me is the role you
always
reserve for children, such as those with us here today.
As my wife Christie and I have discussed
multiple times, we think you do a better job of passing this vital
history to
the younger generations than we do. It
is critical that we continue to integrate our children into these
events
because in so doing we convey our history, our collective memory, to
future
generations.
Thanks to the diligent efforts so many
incredible Dutch people, such
as the Mission Belle Foundation and so many in this community,
history will not be silent, and the sacrifices of our fallen service
members
will not be forgotten. So as someone fortunate enough
to inherit this proud legacy of
Airmen, and to have flown over the fields of Europe, serving side by
side with
our Dutch partners, like Colonel Rab who is with us today, I would like
to say thank
you to all the American family members and friends here, and to all our
Dutch
friends, zeer hartelijk bedankt voor uw sterke partnerschap, en vooral
voor
jullie vriendschap.
After
the meeting at the Landhoeve, we went to the unveiling location at
the dike.
Here the speech at that location
by Jim Sweaney, son of the co-pilot:
I
would like to thank the good people of Nieuw-Lekkerland for this
wonderful
memorial to the crew of the Mission Belle. We are truly amazed that
after all
these years, your community would remember and honor these brave men
with this
beautiful monument. We're
also very pleased to meet the other families of the Mission Belle crew
who cherish
the memories of their valiant loved ones. World War II brought out the
worst of
human behavior, but also the best that we can be. In this fast paced
world we
live in, it's heartening to meet people who respect their history and
remember
the sacrifices made in the defense of freedom.
The
Mission Belle was part of the famous Eighth Air Force. Half
of the U.S. Army Air Force's casualties in World War II were suffered
by the Eighth
Air Force (more than 47,000 casualties, with more than 26,000 dead).
During
this conflict, Eighth Air Force personnel were awarded seventeen Medals
of
Honor, as well as 220
Distinguished Service Crosses, 442,000 Air
Medals and of course,
numerous Purple Hearts.
One
of the tasks given the Eighth Air force was the destruction of the
German war
machine. The 381st Bomb Group was an important part of this,
sending
wave after wave of bombers to attack the German factories producing war
materials. The Mission Belle was shot down on mission #46, after
bombing the
important ball bearing factories in Leverkusen, Germany.
Like
many survivors of war, my father spoke very little of his days as a
bomber
pilot and prisoner of war until late in his life. He finally opened up
a little
to my mother, who put together a biography about his life as an
aviator. This
description of the last flight of the Mission Belle is taken from his
story.
Approaching
the target, anti-aircraft fire took out engine #3. After dropping her
bombs,
the Belle desperately headed for the English Channel and safety, losing
altitude while fiercely pursued by German Me 109's. The plane was shot
up badly,
killing tail gunner Healy. Pilot Sunde was wounded so badly that
co-pilot
Sweaney had to take over, flying out of Germany and ultimately ditching
the
plane safely in the River Lek. The last Me-109 flew past the downed
plane with
a wing waggle and salute. The German
pilot was identified later as Uffz. Albert Brett, also credited in
German
records with downing a Spitfire, P-38 and P-47.
Dutch
men rescued the survivors who were struggling to get out of the quickly
sinking
aircraft. Pilot Sunde and turret gunner McCutchen, incapacitated and in
shot up
Mae West life vests, were swept away and drowned. The others made it
into a rubber
dingy and Dutch boats, and were carried safely to shore. Unfortunately,
the
Nazi’s, knowing right where they were, soon came and took the
survivors. After
days of questioning, they were shipped via train to prison camps in the
north
and east of Germany. Officers Sweaney, Tully, and Christensen were held
in Stalag
Luft 1 near Barth for the duration. Carano, England, Josephson, and
Culver were
sent to Stalag 17-B near Krems, Austria. Generally, the Germans treated
officers much better than enlisted men.
POW
Camp life was much like the portrayals we've seen in movies. Mostly
boring,
lots of idle time, cold and drafty quarters, poor clothing and
sanitation and
very little food. Both American and British officers were held here.
The Brits
maintained strict military discipline, saluting, uniforms and all,
while the
Americans were much more casual. All were serious about their duty to
resist. Numerous
escapes were attempted, and mischief and general sabotage of the camp
was
common. The Americans delighted in finding ways to annoy their German
guards,
who were for the most part, elderly men and young boys.
As
grim as it was, camp life was not without it's humor. Dad told Mom this
very
funny story (paraphrasing her words), "Camp
sewage was collected by a horse drawn tank wagon with a large hose
connected.
At the front of the tank was a large pot with a spring loaded lid. The
driver
would run the hose to the sewage bunker, pour a pint of benzene into
the pot
and light it. The resulting explosion would blow the pot lid open which
would
then clang shut, creating a vacuum which would suck the sewage up with
a big
slurping sound. The funny part was the horse, who knew exactly what was
going
to happen. When the wagon stopped, he would get nervous and antsy. At
the
moment of the explosion, the wagon would bounce about in cloud of dust
and the
horse would rear snort and buck. Then, he would calm down and the wagon
would
go on to the next station."
In
April of 1945, the Germans left quietly
and Stalag Luft 1 was liberated by Russian troops who quickly moved on
to the
front. The prisoners received orders to wait for the Americans, who
landed
transport planes at a nearby airfield. They
were flown to holding camps along the
coast near Le Havre, known as the Cigarette Camps. My father was
assigned to
Camp Lucky Strike. After a few weeks, the
troops were transported back the USA via Victory Ships. Dad came home
in June, 18
months after the last flight of the Mission Belle.
In
closing, we give thanks again to the brave men of the Mission Belle and
for all
those gallant souls who chose to fight for freedom. We
are truly grateful to our Dutch hosts and
friends for the honor of this beautiful monument.
After the unveiling, there was a final meeting at 't Waellant.
Here the speech of André
Hoogendoorn, chairman of the Mission Belle Foundation:
Dear people,
We are at the end of a day, where
we as a foundation worked a long time for. A day that had an emotional
influence
for our American guests, as well as a lot of other people.
For me it was an impressive day,
where “remembrance” and “honoring” stood
central. I think that we will not
forget this day and the history of the ‘Mission
Belle’, that
crashed in the Lek river after a fight on December 1st,
1943 very quickly. And that was
exactly the goal we
wanted to realize for this monument.
We could, by unveiling the
monument, uphold the memory of this local piece of history:
·
“so we will never forget”.
·
But also a tribute to the crew that fought for our
freedom.
A tribute for the crew of the ‘Mission
Belle’, but also for all the
other, mostly young people who have deployed themselves for our freedom
and have
often given their lives for it.We are, as the board of the Mission
Belle B17-G Foundation, thankful that
today, almost 75 years ago, the unveiling could take place:
·
With so many next of kin of the ‘ Mission
Belle’ crew members and
·
With so many people who heard about this history or saw
it with their
own eyes of heard it with their own ears.
We were also very thankful that Mayor
van der Borg of the Molenwaard county, Colonel Fisher of the American
Embassy
and Air Force and Colonel Rab of the Dutch Air Force, kept their
schedule free,
to be here today and played their part of the ceremony. Thank
you for that.
And if we speak about
appreciation, I can tell you that we as a board are very thankful to
many
people. I’d love to thank everyone
personally on behalf of the board. But I’m afraid it will be very
late if I do
that. Many people worked very hard, because they feel that the monument
is very
important. And not to get personal attention for it. That’s
why I will say may thanks
especially to groups of people.
We are as board thankful for:
·
The enthusiasm, the community had for this initiative.
·
The spontaneous cooperation and giving the needed
resources by:
o
The neighborhood deliberation of Nieuw-Lekkerland
o
People who live at the Lek dike, where the monument is
placed
o
Business people
o
Authorities
o
Churches
o
Clubs
o
Schools
and
o
You as people from Nieuw-Lekkerland and probably the wide
area around
this town
Without the enthusiasm and
cooperation from you, in any shape or form, this monument could never
have been
realized.
Also during preparation and
organization of this day we got a lot of cooperation. Here were also a
lot of
people who helped us without any demands and it’s impossible to
name everybody.
That’s why I would like to thanks on behalf of the board:
·
The preparation commission who advised the board with the
program of the
unveiling. With your work and ideas it became a beautiful and dignified
program.
·
The people of the Molenwaard county who took care of the
fences,
flagpoles, wreath holders, and the sound system, but also for your
input. Good
that you all did this so smooth and quickly.
·
The people of the Molenwaard Combination Dike
Improvement. Great how
they helped us every time we needed them and especially for placing the
synthetic
driving plates today, so we could put the chairs there and if it should
rain,
we didn’t have to stand in the mud there.
·
The traffic controllers of Jan Kees Boer Transport who
helped us during
the temporary closing of the Lek dike and organized the traffic very
well. The
ceremony was dignified and uninterrupted because of your hard work.
·
The members of Apollo Music band. You played very
beautiful. Your Music
was a huge contribution to the atmosphere of the official ceremony. And
what
most people don’t know, you have placed the chairs and the
rostrum this morning.
·
The people of the Delware Company. You have given this
day a special
nuance by using military vehicles and the pople in original uniforms.
·
The chauffeurs of the vans. Great that you took care of
transporting our
American guests. And also great that we could use the vans of the
Molenhoeve
Farm and Taxi Haars company.
·
The people who shared the flyers, so everybody could know
the program
and had the text of the national anthems.
·
The West Alblasserwaard Historical Society, who made the
beautiful
exposition here at the Waellant location.
·
Also the people who were in the background and could give
first aid,
when necessary.
·
And it was very super that we could use this lounge and
the coffee that
was given by the L&N Smit Foundation, the hot snacks by The Family
Restaurant, delivered by Onbezorgd Bezorgd and the drinks by Plus van
der Wal.
·
And I want to give compliments for the service, as how it
was done and
how all the appointments were made.
I think that an applause for all
those people I just mentioned, should be given.
But there are a few people I
should mention:
·
Ria Scholten who was here today for the local press and
will make a comprehensive
report of it.
·
The photographer Geert Ouweneel who made photo’s of
this day, so we can
make a good report of this day on our website.
·
And Piet Stout who filmed this day, so that it
won’t just be recorded on
photo’s, but also on film. It’s very possible that this
movie will be released
on DVD.
Thanks a lot for doing this without any interest, so we
can read and
look at this story in the future.
·
And of course the board of the Mission Belle B-17G
Foundation. I’d like
to present the members to you:
o
Evert
de Bruijn
o
Gwendolijne
Verheij
o
John
Heuvelman
o
Kees
Stam
o
Theo
Jansen
o
Wim
Hasman
We had together, thanks to mayor Dirk van der Borg, an
intensive time.
An intensive time, but also a time where I will look at with a lot of
pleasure.
Thanks to your enthusiasm and effort could this monument be realized
and we had
today, together with society and the next of kin this beautiful day. I
want to thank you very much for this.
And maybe you don’t know yet, but we are not
finished. We will go on for
a while:
o
Making newsletters with a report of this day.
o
Organizing the management and maintenance of the monument.
o
Trying to collect the last pennies.
My wish is that we can do this with the current team.
And my thanks are not finished without thanking today’s master of
ceremony, Peter van der Giessen. Peter, you were very visible as master
of
ceremony and it was, great in my opinion. But I want to thank you also
for the
support you gave our board in the last 2 months, in preparation for
this day. Including your input, this exciting day was
very dignified. Compliments
for the
professional and easy going way you did this.
We are now at the end of this meeting. For now, thanks for
being here today. And a safe trip home.
All
the photos and videos of the unveiling you can find at
this website: https://hazy.home.xs4all.nl/Planes/T3165%20Mission%20Belle/Images/Monument/Multimedia/
The remembrance on December 1st, 2018 took place at the monument
on the dike:
Here
the speech of Majoor van Driesten (preacher Dutch Army):
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is an impressive story, what happened here right
behind us and above us, 75 years ago.
How an American bomber fell behind during a mission, became prey to
German fighter planes. And how the co-pilot James Sweaney in the end
could do not much else than to drop the plane here in the river Lek.
Unfortunately they didn’t make it to the safe haven of England.
Impressive
also to get acquainted with these men, through reading of the book, and
their families, and locals who got involved.
Impressive
how young people volunteered to risk their lives far from home for the
freedom of others.
Impressive
to read how families were torn by grief because their son did not
return.
Impressive
how those who barely survived, then ended up in German camps, until the
end of the war for another year and a half.
WWII was about preserving
or regaining humanity in Europe, which was trampled underfoot.
The massive killing and deliberate neglect of people in the camps of
Nazi Germany.
Today we express our deep respect for the commitment of these men and
their families at home.
We are literally silent ......
One part of the story of what happened behind us did not let me go.
Tully describes in his diary how after the crash one German fighter
plane kept circling until they had left the aircraft. And how the
German pilot once again glided by and gave a nod with the wing as
greeting, as a salute. This is how Tully understood the gesture in any
case.
This seems a strange phenomenon: that soldiers on the one hand fight
each other to death, yet on the other hand they have a certain respect
for each other (this also occurred elsewhere in WWII and WWI).
A strange phenomenon, or ... is it precisely here that a small ray of
light breaks through in the endless misery of war?
A ray of light, namely, that people do not have to stand against each
other for ever,
because there is always the possibility to recognize each other as a human being.
Light, that it is conceivable
that in another circumstance, another place and time, you would someday
even shake hands.
That nod with the wing as a greeting, a strange but hopeful gesture.
That there is always the possibility for us humans to step out of our
molded images and meet the other without a prior judgment.
That there is a world imaginable in which we can see in each other a
creation of God.
That salute with the wing in the middle of a battle of life and death.
A small ray of light.
I would like to lead you in prayer now.
Eternal God and father, You who have come in Jesus Christ.
We are here today in gratitude that we may be free people.
That we are no longer confined in camps and neglected, that we have
abundance of food, that we may serve You in freedom.
Above all, we thank You that You have taken care of us people. When You
came on that mission, that started in Bethlehem and ended at Calvary.
Then You
reached out to us, pulled us out of the water on dry land, dressed and
nourished us, brought us into the realm of Your peace.
We remember the people who died here, and those who came ashore wounded
and were taken prisoner. We remember their families.
We pray, bless them with Your comforting presence. And be near to us
all, and be our pastor in life. That we focus on the good things of the
Gospel.
Go with us, when we go from here. Bless us and make us blessing for
each other.
Amen
All the photos and videos of the unveiling you can find at this
website: https://hazy.home.xs4all.nl/Planes/T3165%20Mission%20Belle/Images/Monument/Multimedia/
© & ® Mission
Belle, December 3nd, 2018.