I'm not that big into Memorial Day. I don't mean that I don't honour and respect the fallen soldiers of wars, it's just I don't go slathering it all over social media or attend ceremonies or anything. It's not my thing. However, there were two things that caught my attention recently and so a blog post was a must, right? First was the headlining story in the local paper yesterday. It's not often that one will read "Dutch family" or "grave" very often on the front cover of our paper, it at all ever. So, of course I wanted to read what my eyes had briefly just alighted upon. It was an interesting and nice read. So, that's the Holtman couple from Heerlen, Netherlands up there in the photo. "They have no connections to the United States, have never been to Mississippi. They do not speak English." The writer of the article, Billy Watkins, doesn't speak Dutch either, so the group had to rely on Google translate and sort of muddle through it for the interview. The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten (Amerikaanse Begraafplaats Margraten) is about 25 minutes from the Holtman's. It contains the remains of over 8,000 soldiers who fell in battle during WWII. There is also a wall inscribed with the names of over 1,700 missing soldiers. They're all Americans. The Dutch have adopted every single person in this cemetery, including the names of the missing, all in a show of respect that these dead will never be forgotten, which I find very touching. Once you adopt a person, you receive all of the known information about them, and your duty is to visit them and bring flowers to their grave side. It just so happens that the Holtman's chose the white cross on Plot N, Row 6, Grave 13, which happened to belong to a Mississippian, and thus are why they are featured in the article. The Mississippian they chose was 24 year old (16. January 1920) Clyde Hathorne who was killed near Dunkirk, France (24. June 1944). He was an Army Air Force tech sergeant, radio operator, and gunner in the 2nd Air Division; was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal. He was first laid to rest at Coxyde Military Cemetery in Belgium and it's unsure why or when his remains were relocated to Margraten. The Holtmans' sons are 17 and 19 and it was a sobering experience for them to visit the cemetery, realizing that just about everyone buried in this sacred bone yard is about their age. They've adopted the grave to honour the people who helped fight for their freedom, to liberate them from Nazi Occupation, as well as to show their sons what freedom really looks like. It's knowing that these people lying in the ground ultimately died to help you, as well as others in the world. Without them you might not be free. The Holtman's ended up writing to the paper in Jackson, Mississippi hoping to find Hathorne's family. They want them to know that he's not forgotten and they're the one's taking care of him now. "We want to tell them that we will always take good care of the grave and they they, too, have a special place in our hearts. And even though it is unlikely that we can ever come to Mississippi, Mississippi also has a special place in our hearts." They're also wanting a photograph of him. There's an event on Facebook; The Faces of Margraten, an effort to find photo's of the fallen soldiers to place next to the gravestones. Just about everywhere has their photo next to them now, except for Hathorne. An interesting side note is that I'm related, on my mothers side, to Hathornes in and near Perry County where this man was from. His first name and the name of his family members do not seem familiar though, but I am going to ask my mom. How weird would that be if this happens to be my Great Uncle or Second Cousin or something. The article goes on to state that there's basically a reciprocating cemetery here at out state capital. Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Jackson contains the remains of 30 members of the Royal Netherlands Flying School, and every year they are also remembered on Memorial Day. About 800 Dutchmen, known as the "Dutch Fliers" were trained at the Jackson Army Air Base and then sent fight in the Pacific during World War II. Those 30 men buried in Mississippi were killed in training accidents at the base between 1942 and 1945. I had no idea. I didn't have any idea about the cemetery in the Netherlands either, much less that the soldiers were being adopted. I knew that sometimes men didn't make it home. OK, a lot of times. In some cases the bodies are brought home, but most of the time they're buried in the country in which they fall. I knew that, but also never really gave it much thought as to how many men are buried in other countries because of fighting in war. I just never would have thought that there was an entire cemetery in the Netherlands holding the remains of American soldiers. Built specifically for them. A quick search online reveals that there are 20 American war cemeteries in Europe with 11 of them are in France. The largest (containing more than 14,000 American soldiers) and one of the first ever created is Meuse-Argonne. The others break down as such: Belgium (three), United Kingdom (two), Italy (two), Luxembourg (one), Netherlands (one). The other Memorial Day item is an article I found via Indian Country Today, which was first published in 2016, but which was shared again today. The Perfect Native American Memorial Day.
It's a good read and worth it, but I must admit that I'd read it right when I woke up and was not really awake yet. I was thinking, "Wow, did all of this happen to him? That's unheard of. Awesome!" I was really happy for him and wondering what had changed in the world. Then we get to the part where Harriet Tubman's on the $20 and I'm like, "Wait... that hasn't happened yet." If I'd just read his next line of "Hey, it's my perfect day.", I would have had my 'ah-ha' moment, but as it was, I just went back to the top to reread the title and there was my 'ah-ha' moment with the line following Harriet Tubman as my second one. I laughed at myself for not fully being awake, and continued to read. This indeed would be a perfect Memorial Day for the Indigenous Peoples, and it's sad that this isn't how this plays out. Most people don't even realize that "Indians" are still around. I say that because those people still call them that, though they are not from the Asian subcontinent of India. They're either surprised that they still exist, or even some feel slighted that the awesome white people didn't kill 'em all back then. So, with that on the plate, it's no wonder no one really knows that they're still here and still kicking or that they've fought in all wars and battles or that they were proud to do so. And certainly not as a means to help any white people, but because this is their home, of course they're going to fight for it. And a lot of them are warriors. Not in the typical white idealized warrior chief mascot type of way. While some were true warriors to the point of war mongering, most were just living their lives, but would fight enemy tribes when the need arose. They take being a warrior very seriously and always honour their veterans and ancestors who fought in historic wars, and bring their veterans back in to life. While they may not be fighting for the white way of life when they sign up and troop off to war, and though they'll especially honour their veterans (I mean, why not?), they still honour all veterans. All veterans. Black, White, Latino... doesn't matter. If you're a warrior, you deserve respect, plain and simple. It's highly evident at Pow-Wow's. During the Grand Entry, they'll parade in the American and the POW (Prisoner of War) flags as well as the tribal flag of which ever nation is hosting the Pow-Wow. Veterans are allowed and encouraged to walk the procession of the Grand Entry. The MC will get on the horn and actually say all veterans. Any war, any race, any nation. If you're a veteran you are to be honoured and little else matters. I love that. It warms my heart and fills me with this weird sense of purpose and pride, far more than any 4th of July Parade or white centric veteran memorial shin-dig, or the saluting of the American flag or anything else. Because oddly I don't go all out for that sort of thing. I'm not a patriot in any real sense of the word. I cringe slightly and groan when dad wants to put the American flag out on certain American holidays. But this, the hardcore veteran love from the Indigenous Peoples, well it's awesome. They're not trying to be awesome and badass, but they just are because of how they really feel. And perhaps that's the kicker here. They really care. I'm not saying other people don't care, but they'll either wave a flag and say veterans without any real meaning, or they're super gung-ho over veterans, but only the white one's because to them they're the only one's who have either fought or else the only one's that truly matter. The Indigenous People have this long tradition about the sanctity of the warrior and respect anyone who is that. Anyone. There's even plenty of stories from both sides of this white guy being the last of his regime out west, his mission along with the others, to slaughter the "Indians"., but he keeps fighting and shows no fear. The Indigenous People may still kill him, depends on the story, but they greatly respect him, where they might only half respect some of the other soldiers, depending upon the circumstance. They get it, they understand, and they care about all of the warriors, where as American in general just cares about the white one's. Then the disenfranchised black people tend to only care about the black veterans. And so on and so forth with each group really only caring or only knowing about their own group and no one else realizing all of the people who have fought. Except some weird, random people like myself (we're out there, I just don't know the numbers), and then the Indigenous Peoples. They care about all the veterans and I think that's why it's so poignant and real, but because that's exactly what it is. It's not a show and it's not slighted. So do yourself a favour. Read Schilling's article, and then go do some research on Native Americans in war. And then do yourself another favour and read about all the other men and women of other races who have a long standing history of fighting wars in this country and overseas. It'll do you good.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA girl from South Mississippi who finds herself in exploration. Archives
November 2019
Categories |