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Tribute trip:

March 11, 2011. I remember the time when I was a teenager, walking around on Margraten war cemetery, that I wondered who all the men and women were who were buried there. It was saddening to see the vast mass of white marble crosses spread out across the green fields.

The people of the Netherlands, soon started to pay tribute to the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, with the adoption program. Family of the fallen, are sometimes not able to cross the Atlantic ocean and visit the grave of their loved one. Just imagine what it must feel like, losing someone not being able to say goodbye. Therefor people who adopted the graves placed the flowers for the family, just to give something back. You can let the family feel what we feel because of these (wo)men, free!

Although my buddy Frenk (30) and I (28) have not experienced the war, we’ve heard stories of our family who did. For both of us, the stories somehow got stuck in our head. Since we met, our group of friends made several trips to historic places, to learn more about the (wo)men who build the foundations of a free and united Europe.

Today’s trip brought us to Henri-Chapelle war cemetery again. The place where we both adopted graves of fallen troopers. Frenk got in contact with family of his adopted graves. He adopted two paratroopers from the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, Private first class Steve Shaposka and Staff Sergeant William F. Withem. Both got killed in action during the battle of the Bulge in the Belgian Ardennes. After doing research to complete the stories of these men, this was the first time Frenk was able to take pictures for the family, including the pictures of the fallen troopers.

During the process of finding information about my adopted graves, I also got in contact with other families who lost loved ones on this side of the Atlantic. This time I visited Henri-Chapelle to honor Private Frank A. Keys, member of the 414th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division and 1st Lieutenant Floyd A. Stott of the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Pvt Frank A. Keys was killed in action in Germany and 1Lt. Floyd A. Stott was killed in action during the battle of the Bulge, in Manhay, Belgium.

If you would like to visit the graves of these men, you can find them at Henri-Chapelle war cemetery, Belgium: