The Dutch Appreciation

There was no running around, cheering, or anything. Everybody was very quiet. It was a very quiet time and finally when the word did come it was, it was really wonderful and our padres had a non-denominational service for it for thanksgiving and that night we had a big party. I’ll tell you it was a wing dinger you know, but the next day, it was a beautiful day because the villagers all came from around us. That was the most beautiful part of it. That was really, really moving. All the children came. They brought a little band with them. We were right out in the country, really out in the boondocks and everybody had something orange on for the House of Orange, you know, arm bands. Little girls had hair ribbons and it was, it was beautiful. They brought us flowers and they brought us eggs and they sang their beautiful national anthem and they had their own flags. It was wonderful. That’s, I think that’s the most moving national anthem there is. The Dutch. And it was so beautiful when they sang it. Our commanding officer spoke and thanked the Dutch people because you know, they had a terrible time. They were starving to death. Oh, it was awful hard. You know, drink, making coffee out of tulip bulbs and all this stuff. That last winter was a terrible, terrible winter for all the Dutch. It was a terrible, terrible winter, starving, terrified of what’s happening with the Germans you know. What a terrible life, frightening all the time. It was so cold, that was the other thing. It was so cold that winter.