“I went to the American consul in Rotterdam. And I said, ‘I need a visa,’ and they tell me, ‘Go and ask for one yearly visa and that you’re a teacher otherwise it’s a temporary visa.’ And the consul said to me, ‘What you gonna do down there?’ I…

“I went to vocational school, and I learn about the culinary art and the restaurant business, and, you know, I liked it, so that’s what I did. I became a chef, and I worked in Rotterdam.. I worked in Switzerland for a year. I worked in Great Britain…

“Oh man, the people were really pleased that it was finally over. And also around the same time, the Red Cross got permission to start dropping food while we were still officially occupied, but people were dying on the street. The situation was…

“Well the one thing with this letter here also, the whole page is about food. That’s the only thing you were living for, you know. I remember my father saying, looking at a poster in the bakery, 'that’s what bread used to look like.' That was…

“I remember things gradually getting worse. The rules and regulations they became harsher and harsher. And there were all kinds of things you really had to watch out for. And they were starting to take things. There were no more cars. They were even…

“During the war, we only had part-time school. I remember having to go quite a distance to go to a school that was still available, but it had to be shared by other schools that had also been taken over by the Germans. And I believe I went to…

“My earliest memory is the beginning of the war. I remember my 6th birthday that everybody was forgetting about my birthday because the city of Rotterdam was burning. I remember the sky being all orange because of the fires. That’s one of my…

“My father was also awarded a Prisoner of War Medal, and that was approved by President Ronald Reagan. That anyone who was or had been a prisoner of war would be awarded a prisoner of war metal. Congressman Roy Rowland, from Dublin, awarded that to…

“I was awarded the Bronze Star on September 30, 1985, at Robbins Air Force Base. It was through an act of Congress that had been signed by the President that awarded to all personnel that had been in the Philippines. To all personnel who helped to…

“I have been to 8 or 10 in Fontana Village, North Carolina the 4th Sunday in August of every year. Those who will and want to meet in Fontana. It begins on Saturday and ends on the Thursday after… There are 400 or 500 of us there, different ones.…