Guest post: “July 4th, America, and Remembrance in the Netherlands”

As you finalize plans to celebrate the Fourth of July, I hope you include time to appreciate what Independence Day is supposed to commemorate.  The National Archives has some interesting history about the Declaration of Independence, and Mount Vernon has put together some details about early 4th of July observances. 

If you are in DC, be sure to check out the National Independence Day Parade, and there will certainly be local events around the country – hopefully one in your community.  Of course, you won’t want to miss PBS’ broadcast of the annual 4th of July Concert.  

Today’s post by my friend of many decades (and Lawfire^® contributor) Bill Knightly causes us to consider how one nation’s gratitude toward our servicemembers and our nation is an example for us. 

However you spend the 4th of July, remember that Independence Day celebrates the freedoms we have. So if you’re at a barbecue or baseball game, or relaxing poolside, oceanside, in the mountains, on our farmlands, or in the city, think about our freedom to gather, to worship, to work, to speak, and to live free.  Enjoy yourselves! 

We don’t live in a perfect country, but we live in one with a multitude of benefits and blessing!  Celebrate it!  But also remember why it is we are able to celebrate.  As Bill says:

The country has a duty to remember the sacrifice of not only the “greatest generation” but the long line of patriots in every generation who have made July 4^th celebrations possible.

Be sure to read Bill’s extraordinarily insightful essay…its perspective will really make you think! (I also strongly recommend you watch the two-minute video found here.)

July 4^th, America, and Remembrance in the Netherlands

Bill Knightly

Decline of Pride

As America approaches another July 4^th holiday, a recent survey indicates its citizens seem to have lost pride in their own country.  A record-low 58% of U.S. adults say they are “extremely” (41%) or “very” (17%) proud to be an American, down nine percentage points from last year and five points below the prior low from 2020. It’s a sad loss of confidence in and gratitude toward America.

In years gone by, Independence Day was a time to celebrate our freedoms and remember the brave civilian founders of our country and the enormous risks they took to establish the country we have today. The day was also a patriotic time to remember the military men and women who throughout the history of our country made enormous sacrifices to preserve our freedoms so we could celebrate July 4th.  

Sure, there were always barbecues and picnics. But these activities seemed secondary to the fundamental commemoration of our county’s founding. Unfortunately, over the years the national holiday has morphed into a carnival of music concerts, shameless retail sales and recreational activity completely divorced from the day and its meaning.

My own hometown of Wilmington, Delaware has cancelled its traditional July 4^th fireworks this year, substituting instead a July 5^th music concert indifferent to the occasion. A local online radio website site lamely announced that there will also be hot-air balloon rides, water slides, a rock wall, and other free activities. Sadly no mention of anything patriotic that directly commemorates our national day of independence. This is likely not atypical in many parts of our country.

Good Housekeeping , the well-known American lifestyle publication trumpeted that this year the Fourth of July can also be celebrated with a great deal on a mattress.  Really?  Is this what has become of our National Day of Independence?

Perhaps Americans could use a strong dose of perspective.

Enter the Dutch

Americans could learn a humbling lesson from the good people of the Netherlands. In 2025 while Americans fret about patriotism the Dutch people still have a distinct pride in America manifested by their unwavering devotion to her fallen heroes.

Quietly and without fanfare, the Dutch have rendered amazing acts of remembrance, gratitude and sheer kindness to fallen American soldiers and their families for over 80 years at a place called Margraten.

The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial at Margraten, in the south of the Netherlands, is the final resting place of 8,288 American soldiers killed in World War II. Margraten is one of 13 American cemeteries and three monuments in Europe administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. Margraten represents just a portion of the over 73,000 Americans military buried in Europe. Although administered by Americans, Margraten is lovingly cared for by the people of the Netherlands.

In September of 1945 Mrs. Emilie Michiels van Kessenich, the wife of the mayor of Maastricht, Netherlands wrote to then President Harry Truman suggesting that her country should remember American fallen in a way that would foster bonds between America and the Netherlands.

I have been thinking, if there could not be done something for the relatives of those brave Americans, who gave their lives for our liberation.… And now that most of the Army has gone back to the States, and only your fallen heroes remain in our soil, we want to establish a lasting tie between their relatives and our people.

And thus, the touching, unique and inspiring grave adoption program was born at Margraten.

Margraten is the only American Military Cemetery in the Netherlands. Its grave adoption program has matched every soldier grave with a Dutch sponsor. It is an unheralded act of kindness that would likely surprise even the most informed Americans.   Since 1945…the locals have adopted every single one of the fallen U.S. Soldiers—all 8,288 headstones as well as the 1,722 names on the Tablets of the Missing in the cemetery’s Court of Honor. In fact, … the waitlist to adopt is so long that people are waiting more than 10 years, and the organization heading up the project is no longer taking new sign-ups.

The Dutch Culture of Commemoration

The Dutch have vowed that brave fallen Americans will not be forgotten. Typical of the Dutch citizens who care for the graves is Arie-Jan van Hees. Hees is a local guide who often leads tour groups, including surprised Americans, through the Margraten cemetery. The tours through the cemetery are normally routine up to a point. CNN explains:

But at Plot H, Row 6, Grave 4, the tour takes a deeply personal turn as van Hees reveals an aspect of the cemetery unknown to many first-time visitors from the United States: The one buried here, Verl E. Miller – whose black-and-white portrait van Hees holds up – was adopted by van Hees and his family in 2005. Along with background about his service – a glider passenger,  Miller later died from a German sniper’s shot – van Hees describes Miller as a teenager growing up on a farm in Ohio, volunteering to serve in place of his newly married older brother and becoming a prolific letter writer during his service. His audience digests this information, some silent and still, others wiping their eyes.

Thousands of Dutch families visit the graves and reverently pass on to their children a culture of commemoration in which they honor and remember the sacrifices of the soldiers to whom they owe their liberation and freedom.

People who adopt a grave visit it regularly and leave flowers on the fallen soldier’s birthday, the day they died, at Christmas, on Memorial Day or whenever else they see fit. Some reach out to families of the dead in the U.S., forming lasting transatlantic friendships.

Ton Hermes and Maria Kleijnen formed such a relationship with Scott Taylor, the grandson of 2^nd Lt Royce Taylor a 23-year-old B-17 bombardier killed when his plane was shot down over Europe. Hermes and Kleijenen adopted Royce Taylo’s grave and formed a close relationship with Scott Taylor. The younger Taylor was deeply appreciative.

I’m very grateful. I can’t say it enough to Ton and Maria that I really am grateful for their efforts to be able to remember my grandfather and then also help other Dutch families to remember the others that are here in the cemetery…I am so grateful at a personal level… because I can’t care for my grandfather like they can.

           There are countless other examples of Dutch devotion and kindness at Margraten. 

Still More to Do

As uplifting as the Margraten grave adoption program has become since World War II, one significant challenge remains. The Dutch adopters only have about twenty-five percent of the names and contact information of their soldiers next of kin. The Forever Promise Project has been created to provide an opportunity for the American public to close the gap and identify soldiers in the Margraten cemetery and in turn put next of kin in contact with Dutch adopters. Foreverpromise.org contains a database that users can access to enable this noble effort.

The wonderful people of the Netherlands can teach us all a lesson this July 4th. The sincere and heartfelt devotion they have shown and continue to show to fallen American soldiers and their families is beyond inspiring.

Perhaps this year when we put our flags out on Independence Day, we can take time amid the clutter and distractions of meaningless sales and cringeworthy public events to restore our pride in America.  The country has a duty to remember the sacrifice of not only the “greatest generation” but the long line of patriots in every generation who have made July 4^th celebrations possible.

We could learn a lot from our Dutch friends about pride, gratitude and remembrance.

Postscript

Robert M. Edsel (author of The Monuments Men) has written a unique history book titled Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and A Forever Promise Forged in World War II, about events in the Netherlands during World War II, including the extraordinary measures the Dutch have taken to thank their liberators. For those interested in more information on the Netherlands and World War II this is an excellent source.

Drawing on never-before-seen letters, diaries, and other historical records, Edsel shows the painful price of freedom, on the battlefields and inside American homes. In this rich, dramatic, and suspenseful story, he captures both the horrors of war and the transcendent power of gratitude, showing the extraordinary measures the Dutch have taken to thank their liberators. “Remember Us” is exactly the book we need—a reminder that grief is universal, that humanity knows no national or racial boundaries, and that we all want to be remembered, somehow, someway, by somebody.

About the Author

Bill Knightly retired from the U.S. Army after a career of 30 years. His service world-wide spanned 23 different countries including multiple tours with units assigned to NATO. Among these assignments was a three-year stint as chief of the war plans division for the U.S. Army V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany during the height of the Cold War.  Bill is a graduate of the U.S Army Command and General Staff College, The U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies and the U.S. Army War College Advanced Operational Fellowship Program.

After retiring from the Army as a Colonel, Bill worked as a civilian for the United States Southern Command (Miami, FL), where his dutiestook him throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean basin.   He has also worked in private industry and has run his own small business. He now lives in Delaware where he lectures, writes and delivers podcasts on the history of northern Delaware and the surrounding region during the American Revolution.

Have a wonderful day, and God Bless the U.S.A.!