22 September 2011


Husband was once honored to be invited to participate in a memorial ceremony for Colonel Peterson, an American officer commanding a fighter group in England during World War II.  He was very well respected, and it was devastating to his men when he was shot down while flying on a mission from the UK to Germany. He crashed into Goedereede, a small town in the Netherlands near the coast.

A private organization called WO2GO concerns itself with preserving the history of the events of that time period, including erecting memorials and holding ceremonies honoring heroic acts during the war years of 1940-1945.  Colonel Peterson was just such a man.  I was also able to attend the ceremony, and it really hit home how much the war impacted the Netherlands.

Well, duh, I knew that already.

It impacted everyone.  But the Dutch people were literally on the front lines, and have destroyed buildings and memorial sites to prove it.  I've even been told it's the reason most of traditional Dutch cooking is a lost art(I've been assured there was such a thing many years ago).

And yet, people here are more than industrious, they are pragmatic.  They adapt and keep going.  They develop their own rhythm, which is often quite unique from other places in Europe I've visited.

I'm no historian, but even I have caught a tiny glimpse of how life in the Netherlands has changed since that time.

And yet, to quote some famous band, Time Keeps on Slipping, Into the Future....

I'm linking with Tales From Windmills Fields today, so if expat life is interesting to you, hop on over and check it out.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for linking up, another interesting post. It is amazing how history can shape anything isn't it from people to recipes to customs and tradtions