The commando who was killed last weekend in a shooting outside a hotel in the American Indianapolis is 26-year-old corporal first class Simmie Poetsema, the Commando Corps confirms.
Poetsema was a medic in the commandos and, according to his colleagues, received his baptism of fire when he was sent headlong from his vacation address to Afghanistan last summer to help with the evacuation in Kabul. After the Taliban took power, thousands of people wanted to flee the country, many of them interpreters who had worked for foreign military personnel. They feared for their lives. “As the chaos around the airport mounted, it was Simmie, among others, who inventively created a new access road through which the commandos were able to evacuate hundreds of Dutch nationals and Afghans,” his comrades, who are still in the United States, said.
His distinctive appearance was not only limited to decisive action, but above all also to his deep desire to help others. “As a medic, Simmie was always there where he could make a difference.”
Poetsema was fatally injured in the night from Friday to Saturday when a group of Dutch soldiers was probably shot from a car in front of the hotel where they were staying. Two other commandos were also injured, but were conscious and could still be contacted.
Poetsema died two days after the shooting incident in hospital from his injuries, in the presence of family and colleagues. He will probably be transferred to the Netherlands this week.
No fighter
The police are investigating why someone opened fire on the Dutch. Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett announced on Monday that there is believed to have been an argument in a bar, after which the Dutch soldiers returned to their hotel. “That dispute was finally resolved by drawing a gun and shooting at other people,” Hogsett said, speaking of a tragedy.
The commandos are now coming out because they believe that the image is wrongly created that Poetsema is a fighter, something his colleagues are resolutely fighting. Earlier this week, bearer of the Military Order of William Gijs Tuinman could not imagine anything at all and called the death ‘very sad’. Tuinman did not work directly with the commando, but knows him from surfing, a shared passion. ,,He could do that much better than me. I once went to sea with him at Ouddorp, where the waves were really tough. I was glad he kept an eye on me behind me. He stood in front of his mates and was such a great guy.”
The Dutch soldiers stayed overnight in the American city in order to practice as realistically as possible. They did so in a purpose-built village, the Muscatuck Urban Training Center. The shooting happened outside of this training and in the military’s free time.
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