Uncle Jasper

Grandma and GrandpaVandenBergh had two sons: Uncle Jasper and his elder brother Jacob ("Jake") both fought in World War II. Jake came home at the end of the war; Jasper did not. He was killed in the Battle of the Bulge.

Before going off to war, the brothers posed in the yard of the family home on Beacon Avenue in Albany:

Jasper and Jake at home on Beacon Avenue

The story of Jasper's company and what happened during his last days has been recorded by a researcher who has established a Web site that documents World War II casualties who are buried in the Netherlands.  Jasper is now buried in the Loosdrecht-Rading Cemetery, in his mother's hometown. My grandparents apparently thought that it would be too traumatic to bring Jasper's remains back to Albany, and thus arranged for him to be buried in Grandma's hometown. Over the years, several relatives have seen to it that the grave was cared for.


By coincidence, a number of Jasper's nieces and nephews happened upon another Web site where they exchanged information with a Loosdrecht resident who was curious about the grave of an American soldier in his hometown. A memorial page can be found at this Find-a-Grave Web site
The same researcher has also contributed to this additional Web site in Dutch.

Uncle Jasper in uniform

 

Entrance to Loosdrecht-Rading Cemetery

During our trip to the Netherlands, we had the opportunity to visit Loosdrecht with other relatives. We were unable to locate the old Daams smithy photographed fifty years ago by another relative (see the previous post "Spring Scenes in Loosdrecht"), as we did not have an accurate address, but we saw many other old houses that resembled it. We did however, visit the cemetery where Jasper is buried.

Thus we were able to pay our respects to the uncle we had never known. 

Jasper VandenBergh's Grave

The grave is indeed well maintained, with a neatly trimmed hedge around it and a profusion of delicate white flowers. All this is an indication that the Dutch still remember with gratitude the liberation of their country by the Allied Forces.

We also located the grave of several other Daams relatives, including another Jasper, the "Oom Jas" mentioned in the post, "The Giechelaars."





How ironic it was to think that these two men, so closely related, but who never knew each other in life, now lie only a few feet from each other.

Jasper Daams' Grave