Memorial Day Address Government Commissioner Van Rij

Speech | 04-05-2020

Tomorrow, May 5th, marks the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII. That is why we have the flags flying at half-mast today and you will see them flying proudly from the top of the mast tomorrow. 75 years seems like a long time ago, but, as you know, there are people who are still alive who remember the war and who fought our freedom. Many soldiers laid down their lives, but ordinary people were also victims in the war. It is with humility and gratitude that we remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
 

Being born in The Netherlands 15 years after the end of WWII, I was still directly impacted by the stories which my parents told me about their youths which were directly altered by the war. My mother was a teenager when Rotterdam was bombed on May 14th, 1940. She saw the city of her childhood go up in flames. She told stories of riding her bicycle more than a hundred kilometers on steel rims just to try to secure some food from farmers during the hunger winter of 1944-45. She rode her bike back to Rotterdam along the train tracks in order to not get lost, but she was hit by flying shrapnel from ‘friendly fire’ as the allies bombed the German trains. She didn’t dare stop as the other people would have taken away the few potatoes she had found. She managed to get home safely and had food for her family. This story always impressed me and I was so proud of my mother….a young woman determined to help her family.

My father decided to enlist in the cavalry in 1939 when he had turned 18. That was just before WWII broke out. My father was stationed in The Hague and was in the same division as the famed Caribbean WWII war hero, George Maduro from Curacao.
When the Netherlands was invaded on May 10th, 1940, he was standing watch at his barracks. He remembered the planes coming in low and bombing the horse barracks. He was about 15 meters away from another soldier who was also on guard duty. Suddenly he saw low flying bombers getting very close. He heard a terrible crash and was blinded by smoke and fire. When the smoke cleared, he looked across to check on his fellow guard. To his shock, he saw that he had been killed. The rest of the barracks was on fire, soldiers and officers were running around trying to check the extent of the damage and figure out what had just happened. This was the beginning of what would prove to be a very difficult and intense time. My father, my mother and the rest of the free world were thrown into 5 years of uncertainty, violence, fear and economic hardship. Nothing would ever be the same again. The world changed and people also changed due to the circumstances.

St. Eustatius was not directly invaded during WWII as you know. But it was impacted. The Caribbean was full of cat-and-mouse games which were played out by German and US/Allied submarines. Various islands were hosts to hidden radar units which tried to keep an eye on covert aircraft movements and possible invasions of oil laden islands.
But St. Eustatius did have 3 young men who answered the ‘call to duty’. Three heroes. J.C. Van Putten, W.O. Hooker and M. Dembrooke were young men from the island who bravely heeded the call to fight in order to ensure that democracy would continue to reign supreme. Unfortunately, their young lives were snuffed out before they could make a different history for themselves. They died in the line of duty. But perhaps the legacy their premature deaths have left are even more important than anything else. They have left the legacy of how honorable and necessary their selfless sacrifice is to ensure that we can live in peaceful times. That we feel safe and free from fear.

As you may be thinking, in a strange way our lives are ‘fear based’ once again. We are at war again. At war against an invisible virus…Covid-19. This is also a World War as it affects the entire globe. But this war is not about ideology, positions of borders or fighting over essential commodities. It is a nameless battle to ensure our global health. Our borders are closed, strict rules and Emergency Ordinances are in place, and the streets are eerily empty. This time the enemy cannot be seen but we know it is there.

On the other hand, we are now all ‘soldiers’ in a way. We have gracefully banded together and are adhering to rules and regulations which we feel confident will help our world heal and find a vaccine or medication to overcome our adversary.
Being the father of 6 children with one who is serving in the military as a pilot, another who is a diplomat in training who will hopefully be able to ensure we don’t have wars in the future and another who is a doctor in the Dutch Caribbean fighting this unknown foe, I know how it feels to have family members fighting for democracy and another fighting to preserve our health. We have to be selfless at this time in history. Just like our forefathers were selfless in the past.

Today at 4 p.m. Ms. Francis and I will lay a wreath at Fort Oranje in memory of our fallen heroes. We do this to remember the fallen who were fathers, brothers, husbands, sons, wives and daughters. We want to remember each one as the special and unique individual they were during their time on earth.

As Statians, we are Stronger Together and will continue to face any challenge presented to us.

I remain your dedicated and faithful Government Commissioner,
Marnix van Rij