On Saturday the 15th September 2018 I was privileged to be part of Donnie Edwards' 'Best Defense Foundation'. "Return of the Veterans" program.

Donnie is a retired NFL football player who has spent the last 22 years giving back to our military. He has done numerous USO tours, visited many military bases and accompanied hundreds of WWII veterans and Vietnam veterans back to their battlefields. 

Donnie was the Los Angeles Chargers Salute to Service Award recipient in 2017.

     

29th April 2018. Guided tour Global River Cruises / Gohagan Tours, Group #2.

23rd April 2018. Guided tour Global River Cruises / Gohagan Tours, Group #1.

 

Dear AJ, 

I was on your tour of the American Cemetery, from Uniworld and I want to tell you how touched I was by the whole experience!  This cemetery was something I knew nothing about.  I was so impressed with your  stories and the work you are doing!

Most of all I want to thank the Dutch people for remembering and for adopting our Military.

Sincerely,

Miriam Blau

AJ, 

My wife and I want to thank you again for the tour of the American Cemetery on April 20.  It was a very moving experience for both of us.  What impressed us the most was the knowledge and passion that you expressed during the course of the tour.  It is amazing that almost 75 years later the remains of those on the wall of the missing are still being discovered and identified.   Also, thanks for the research that you completed on these heroes and providing us with insights into their lives.

Sincerely, Jan & Jim Lemmon,Earlysville, VA  USA

Dear Mr. van Hees,

On the morning of April 13th I was part of a tour group from the River Ambassador and you were our guide.  I want to congratulate you for a job that was very well done.  Your knowledge and personalization about some of the individuals buried there made for a very emotional experience.  

I have been to Normandy and Arlington Cemeteries on several occasions and to other US national cemeteries, but you made the trip to the Netherlands Cemetery the most meaningful of them all. 

Thank you. 

Beach Hall, Rogers City, Michigan, USA.

Dear A.J.,

Thank you for the guided tour you gave to our little group of five travelers last week (7th April 2016). 

I especially want to thank you for your compassion when you learned that my father was KIA in on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.  

Chances are that I will never visit the land where he died and was first buried, so having you explain how our dead were handled in the Netherlands and beyond answered so many questions.  

I appreciated the pictures you shared, as hard as they were to see, and your sensitivity to my emotional reaction.  The grief of growing up without a father still lingers even after all these years, but I feel better having walked the grounds with you.  I posted a few pictures with comments on my FB page and attached one of the two of us in this note.

 It was impressive and very comforting also to see the way our fallen heroes continue to be honored by the meticulous care taken to maintain their sacred burial ground, and for the Netherlanders who visit the graves each year along with those who care about those who are still missing and their families, like your son.  Please express my appreciation to all and thank you for keeping the memory and lessons learned alive for future generations.  

Mrs. Donna M. Authers (Virginia, USA)

Dear Arie,

Early in 2015 my husband and I decided to make a trip to The American Cemetery in Margraten to visit the grave of his uncle who was killed near there in WWII. I visited Trip Adviser to see how this could be done and found your information as a highly recommended guide.

On September 3, 2015 we were able to make this happen.

Arie, we want to thank you so very much for making this trip such an easy,  memorable one. Not only did you give us an amazing tour filled with history of the cemetery and the battles around it but you also provided us with information about  the activities of Fred's unit before he was killed. Your personal touch about Fred and others who were killed defending freedom brought so much meaning to the day and is something we will never forget.

Dear Arie-Jan,

On 5 September 2015 my father and brother came over from the UK for a visit.

I wanted to show them the cemetery because my father was in the RAF when he was a young man. I came in contact with you and what you did was absolutely amazing.

Your made the tour custom made for us with lots of different stories about RAF soldiers (*).

I would like to thank you so much for your special tour, your effort and your enthusiasm!

Kind regards,

Esther-Jane

(*) Notes from Arie-Jan van Hees:

-The first American who was killed over the Netherlands was attached to No.53 Squadron of RAF Coastal Command.

He was killed in action while flying with a British crew and acting as an American Liason Officer.

The aircraft in which he lost his life was a Lockheed Hudson, wearing British colours.

-Two Americans who are commemorated on the Walls of the Missing were volunteers who had joined the British Royal Air Force before the USA was drawn into war.

Both were lost (Missing in Action) while flying British Spitfires with the famous RAF Fighter Command ‘Eagle Squadrons’.

- The famous 4^th of July 1942 ‘Independence Day Raid’ was executed by  nine RAF/USAAF crews flying American Douglas Boston aircraft loaned from the RAF Bomber Command’s No.2 Group, taking off from RAF Station Swanton Morley.

On this raid one British and two American crews were lost, three RAF and five USAAF crew were killed in action and one American crew member became the first American POW of the Germans.