{"id":297052,"date":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=297052"},"modified":"2024-10-10T09:10:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T09:10:51","slug":"dutch-celebrate-80-years-liberation-by-u-s-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=297052","title":{"rendered":"Dutch celebrate 80 years liberation by U.S. Soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n The \u201cOld Hickory\u201d Soldier statue stands in the middle of the square in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, during the 80th liberation event Oct. 5, 2024. The town of Kerkrade erected the statue in 1994 in gratitude of the U.S. Army 30th Infantry Division\u2019s Soldiers who liberated their town from Nazi occupation in 1944.
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KERKRADE, Netherlands \u2013 The town of Kerkrade, the Netherlands, gathered Oct. 5 to celebrate the 80th year of liberation from Nazi occupation with a ceremony, parade, reenactors, and a liberty ball. Distinguished visitors spoke of freedom regained and remembrance of the sacrifice of the U.S. Army 30th Infantry Division.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am here today with deep pride and humility,\u201d said U.S. Army Garrison Benelux Commander Col. Patrick Hofmann. \u201cIt is an honor to stand in a place rich with both history and resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1944, the U.S. Army 30th Infantry Division fought across France and swept through Belgium and the Netherlands rescuing town after town from Nazi oppressors\u2014Kerkrade being the last town to be liberated in South Limburg that year.<\/p>\n

The mayors of Kerkrade and the bordering German sister town of Herzogenrath spoke at the ceremony remembering the impact of the day and today\u2019s importance of open travel across borders.<\/p>\n

Hofmann acknowledged the hardship that the Dutch experienced during World War II.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking around at this peaceful and vibrant town, it is difficult to imagine the suffering and fear endured by those who lived through years of war and occupation,\u201d he said. \u201cFor those of us who have not experienced such trials, we can only attempt to grasp the immense joy and relief felt on the day of liberation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in 1944, it was just 10 days before U.S. forces entered the city that the enemy forced residents to evacuate as the occupiers attempted to keep their stronghold just across the country border in Aachen, Germany. For the Nazis, Kerkrade served as an outer defense line for their military position in Aachen. As Dutch evacuees walked straight through enemy lines toward freedom in a neighboring town, 13 residents were killed by German shell fire. The enemy immediately began ransacking their vacant homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the people of Kerkrade, there was no certainty of when the darkness would lift,\u201d said Hofmann. \u201cThe deprivation, the constant threat of violence\u2014it was a time of immense hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Roger Zoontjens, a Dutch South Limburg resident, stands by a restored WWII U.S. military vehicle in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, Oct. 5, 2024. Zoontjens served as a reenactor at the 80th celebration of liberation event. His Family has also adopted a service member’s grave at Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten and has made contact with the Soldier\u2019s Family members.
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The American troops, otherwise known as \u201cOld Hickory,\u201d entered the evacuated city of Kerkrade Oct. 5, 1944, to free the residents. They encountered no resistance from German occupiers. Upon liberation and after a short time of rest at Abbey Rolduc in Kerkrade, they continued their path toward Aachen.<\/p>\n

Months later in February 1945, the Kerkrade townspeople expressed their deep gratitude to the U.S. Soldiers by renaming the Ambachtsplein to \u201cOld Hickory Square.\u201d On the 50th anniversary of liberation in 1994, the city erected a statue of an American Soldier in the square.<\/p>\n

Liberation of Western Europe took place in stages in the final year of WWII. In remembrance of the U.S. Soldiers\u2019 sacrifice throughout the war and into the days of liberation, since 1945 local Dutch residents adopted all the Soldiers\u2019 gravesites at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten. As the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands, more than 8,000 service members lay to rest there. The Dutch caretakers often bring flowers to place at the headstones and conduct research on the life of their adopted Soldier as a way to commemorate their ultimate sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese Soldiers came to restore freedom to Europe, and you have kept their stories alive, ensuring they are never forgotten,\u201d said Hofmann to the Dutch attendees at Saturday\u2019s ceremony. \u201cEighty years later, your dedication to their memory honors their sacrifice, and it serves as a reminder to all of us about the importance of preserving peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The \u201cOld Hickory\u201d Soldier statue stands in the middle of the square in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, during the 80th liberation event Oct. 5, 2024. The town of Kerkrade erected the statue in 1994 in gratitude of the U.S. Army 30th Infantry Division\u2019s Soldiers who liberated their town from Nazi occupation in 1944. (Photo Credit: U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297054,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=297052"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":297057,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297052\/revisions\/297057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/297054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=297052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=297052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=297052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}