Meet Henk Coehoorn
You'll probably say, "Why would I want to do that?" My answer would be, "If you want to read some good WW2 Stories Henk is your man." Where does Henk find all of his stories? Well, Henk, like many Dutchmen who live right in the heart of
some of the biggest World War 2 battlegrounds, has developed quite an interest in those battles. Henk's (full name: Hendrik Coehoorn) father was a slave laborer during WW2 and was put to work in a factory near Berlin for the duration of the war. His father was freed by the Russians. He was transferred to the US Army where they cured his wounds and brought back to health. Henk states that he owes a lot to the WW2 Allies and this explains his present interests. His picture on the right may be a tip-off of his interests.
Presently, Henk lives in the town of Midwoud in North-Holland with his loving wife and two daughters and works as a Senior Corrections Officer for the Dutch Justice Department. His hobbies include WW2 Aircraft recovery (many WW2 crash sites still exist from the air war over Holland) and WW2 motorcycle restoration. And he still has some time to work with a group who do WW2 reenactment which they call living history events. And he still has some time left to search for more war stories before the few that have them are gone.
And here is Henk's first story:
The Loss of a B-17 Flying Fortress
by Cecil Kenneth Belton, Pilot
I was working for Western Electric Company when I enlisted in the Army Air Corps in Peoria, Illinois in August, 1942 at the age of 20. I received two years of training in Texas, Colorado, and California. I graduated as a twin engine 2nd Lt. pilot in the class of 1944-E at Stockton, California. After further training in New Mexico and Dyersburg, Tennessee our crew was sent to England as a replacement crew in the 452nd Bomber Group, 8th Air Force, at Deopham Green, England.
Our first mission was to bomb Frankfort, Germany’s submarine pens. We lost several planes on this mission and we had 47 holes in our plane including the loss of the right wing flap and a 3 foot hole in our tail assembly. On our 5th mission over Rhine, Germany we lost our # 2 engine, had a fire in the oxygen tank, had a bomb hung up in our bomb bay, and a leak in our hydraulic system. Moments later our plane exploded and I was blown out of the plane and was the only survivor.
I was fortunate to be rescued by the Dutch underground in North Holland. They brought me back to health and I spent the next three months hiding, evading and fighting the Germans who occupied Holland. After many narrow escapes and encounters with the Germans, mostly due to being dressed as a civilian and wearing a doofstam badge, doofstam means deaf and dumb, and due to some very brave men in the Dutch underground, we finally made it to South Holland.
In South Holland we met a Dutch guide, 3 English soldiers, and 2 Dutch women. We tried to connect with an escape launch. Having no luck, and after having a harrowing night, we decided to go inland close to Antwerp, where we were confronted by French Canadians. After several days, I made it to Brussels and on to Paris. I arrived back in the States in May 1945.
A memorial of our crew has been built in Midwoud, Holland where our plane went down. There is also a museum in Midwoud which houses over 500 parts of our downed plane. It was called “The Lucky Lady”. After the war I married my wife, Virginia. We have been married 61 years and have two great daughters and five grandchildren. We have been fortunate to have visited Holland several times and have continued our friendship with many of the people who were with the Dutch underground.
Ken Belton has served on the WWII Illinois Veterans Committee, on the executive board, director and assistant treasurer. Ken Belton, Springfield Illinois
