May 4th is the designated day in the Netherlands to remember all those who died in WWII and other conflicts.
At 8pm, two minutes of silence will be observed across the country. A few years ago, I saw a picture that really touched me. It was of a pizza delivery boy getting off his bike at 8pm and stopping for two minutes to remember the dead. It still brings tears to my eyes today, not out of sadness but out of joy. It is good to know that the younger generations still know the value of respect, especially for those who died for them, as they did for me.
So many have died in concentration camps, in battle in Europe and in the Pacific, as resistance fighters. There are just too many to name. It is a task impossible for any one person to do.
I will remember all those millions who died during WWII. They died because some evil men wanted their ideologies spread all over the world. I say ideologies, but they were really idiocrasies.
I will remember them by naming a few brave men buried in ‘The Netherlands American Cemetery’ in Margraten.
10,022 names are connected to the cemetery. 8301 who are buried there. The other names are those who are remembered and whose bodies weren’t found or were returned home. There is one name there that is special to me, Pierre de Klein, my dad. He did not die in World War II; he died in 2015, but he always wanted to be a professional soldier. He did fulfill his military service, but his mother discouraged him of becoming a full time soldier like his Father before him, his Father was killed in WWII when my dad was only 5. The management of The Netherlands American Cemetery was so kind as to allow him to scatter my Father’s ashes at the Cemetery, making his remains 8302.
Remembering.
Aldy Willie D. Technician Fourth Grade 34139177 U.S. Army World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Mississippi 10th Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division.
Alston Tullos Private 38416283 U.S. Army World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Texas 2nd Quartermaster Battalion
Zuidema John A. Technical Sergeant 36704981 U.S. Army World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Illinois 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division
Youngblood Eugene P. Corporal 35600074 U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Ohio 316th Fighter Control Squadron
Wright Richard D. Second Lieutenant O-808209 U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Massachusetts 367th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomber Group, Heavy
Wright Richard J. Second Lieutenant O2060633 U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Michigan 78th Squadron, 435th Troop Carrier Group
Winters Clinton First Lieutenant O-751514 U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Missouri 506th Fighter Squadron, 404th Fighter Group
Winton Merbell C. Technician Fifth Grade 12034147 U.S. Army World War II Netherlands American Cemetery New Jersey 309th Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Division
Winzey Patrick M. Staff Sergeant 32983248 U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Netherlands American Cemetery New York 615th Bomber Squadron, 401st Bomber Group, Heavy
Alexander George S. Second Lieutenant O-869037 U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Netherlands American Cemetery Texas 714th Bomber Squadron, 448th Bomber Group, Heavy
Alexander Harry N. First Lieutenant O-767721 U.S. Army Air Forces World War II Netherlands American Cemetery California 566th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, Heavy
They gave their today for our tomorrow.
Our tomorrow was sacred to them.
They gave their today for our tomorrow..
Sacrificing their own lives for those they would never meet.
They gave their today for our tomorrow..
A tomorrow that we should cherish even more.
They gave their today for our tomorrow.
Their bravery should forever be remembered and ingrained in our hearts.
They gave their today for our tomorrow.
To those who gave their today for my tomorrow, I bow humbly and respectfully and hope I was worth your sacrifice.
Source
History of Sorts 
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