About fifty former commandos from all over the country marched twenty kilometers from Bloemendaal to Parnassia aan Zee and back this morning. They do this every year in honor of the former Storm School in the village. After 1949 the school moved to Roosendaal, where the commandos are still trained.
Between 08:00 and 09:00 the former commandos gather Traditionally the village house at the Donkerelaan in Bloemendaal. The temperature is still pleasant. A degree or two. The men are all recognizable by their green beret, of which they are incredibly proud. First a cup of coffee, a chat and then the march can begin.
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Marching former commandos through Bloemendaal – NH News
Theo Draaijer was born in Amsterdam and has been living in Zaandam for some time. He will soon be 86 years old. He followed his commando training in Roosendaal and has never been deployed abroad. “My specialty was ‘the Bren’. The Bren is a light machine gun. 28 rounds, 21 kilos”, he sums up quickly.
He thinks it’s important to participate in the twenty-kilometer march today. “In the dunes I always think of those who were killed in the dunes during the Second World War, such as Hannie Schaft.”
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Steven van Willigenburg is one of the younger former commandos today. He comes from Harlem. He also never had to work abroad. And just like Theo, he also followed his education in Roosendaal.
The green beret, the pride of the commando
He compares the training to the TV program ‘Kamp van Koningsbrugge’. “But they do it for a week and we do it for much longer. It forms you in the end. In our time we didn’t know at all what we started. We had no internet and neither was the newspaper written about the training.
“We started with 130 men and we were left with 28 men eight weeks,” continues Steven. He was one of those 28. “You can have the green one beret also just wear if you have the training.” He therefore only wears it on special occasions. Like today in Bloemendaal, where Veterans Day is also celebrated.