It is not easy for the people who adopted the war graves of five Australians in Mierlo. They died so young that there are hardly any descendants. Then try to find out something about these short lives. But in any case, commemorating these Australians will happen every year in Mierlo from now on. April 25 is Anzac Day, when all people from Australia and New Zealand who died in both world wars are commemorated worldwide.
Australia’s deputy ambassador traveled to Mierlo on Saturday to attend the first Anzac Day there. “It’s very important to us,” says Kevin Playford. “Especially now that the world is in so much uncertainty. We are so grateful for our friends here. It is a bit unlikely, because we are on the other side of the world. But what we have in common can be explained in one word: freedom. We see the world the same as you do. Defending freedom and opposing tyranny.”
According to Playford, there are more than 80 cemeteries in the Netherlands where Australians and New Zealanders are buried. “I estimate that it concerns hundreds of soldiers.” According to him, Anzac Day is a very charged day. On April 25, 1915, the bloodiest battle ever fought by the Australians and New Zealanders during the First World War began at Gallipoli, a Turkish peninsula. “It’s not a story of victory because no one won there.”
Australians and New Zealanders also took action in the Second World War. The crew buried in Mierlo had no idea what awaited them. Australians and New Zealanders initially came to Europe via Canada to fight, because the United States was not yet at war. The countries were part of the so-called Commonwealthof which the British king is the head of state. And so they joined the fight. “And then here you are at the age of 24,” says one of the adopters.
The youngest, Ray McKaskill, was only 19 years old. The Lancaster in which he was traveling was on its way to Germany in February 1945, just before the end of the Second World War, to bomb a target near Bottrop. Things went wrong on the way back. The plane was fired upon by a German fighter. It caught fire and crashed in a minefield near Broekhuizen-Vorst, causing huge explosions. One of the bodies was found three kilometers away. One crew member survived. A British crew member also died.
The bond between the crew members was very strong. The surviving crew member was convinced that they would want to be buried next to each other. And that finally happened in July 1945 in Mierlo. The people who adopted the graves are still busy gathering information about this crew.
