His life should have been like a boys’ book: a smart, sporty young man from a humble background is selected from thousands by the Marine Corps for a career as an elite soldier, and sees a general rank on the horizon. But instead the story turns to tragedy: the major is seriously injured and then spends much of his life in a bitter legal battle with the military top.
That, in short, is the story of Klaas Jol, a parafrog commando, widely recognized as the most talented Marine of his generation. Until a freak accident in 1978 put an end to his career. At the beginning of May, Jol died, fighting frantically (and in vain) for the recognition of his suffering.
‘For thirty-five years my father tossed in bed every night, frustrated that he was not heard,’ says his only child Robbert Jol.
Accident and aftermath
At the end of 1978, Jol is for a military ski exercise in the snowy mountains in Norway. A colleague who goes down the mountain before him falls. When the colleague sees that Jol is jumping after him, he puts out his ski pole in shock. Jol lands on the stick and is pierced from his anus to his shoulder.
Jol’s guts are tattered, his heart has been grazed, but in a Norwegian hospital they manage to save his life in the nick of time. Back in the Netherlands it almost still goes wrong. Jol ends up not in a university hospital, but in a naval hospital, where his abdomen becomes infected and explodes – and again Jol narrowly escapes death.
Jol’s colleagues call him ‘Major Sate’ after this. Jol can happily laugh about it. Jol’s perspective within the navy is less cheerful. He is still promoted to lieutenant colonel, but persistent pain and his heavy position make work impossible.
In 1985 Jol is rejected on psychological grounds and he has to continue with a meager disability benefit. Jol then falls into a deep financial trap. His life will be dominated by monetary compensation. In the end, Jol manages to increase his disability benefits a bit, but he wants more: rehabilitation and a full admission from Defense that they were medically negligent. But Defense remains of the opinion until the last that Jol is ‘fully compensated’.
‘Some people sometimes got tired of his struggle, but I have always remained faithful to my father’, says Robbert Jol, who also made a documentary – Klaas Jol: Miracle Marine — to plead his father’s case. ‘I’ve often said to him: dude, dad, this can’t be won, try to enjoy the rest of your life a little. But giving up just wasn’t in his dictionary.’
tragedy
Jol grew up in Scheveningen in a simple family, with two sisters and three brothers (one of whom is football coach Martin Jol). It was a sporty family, says son Robbert. Jol always took his brothers in tow, running on the Scheveningen beach – because standing still means going backwards. Jol also excelled at the HBS. The combination of sporting and academic talent could have brought Jol far within Defense.
Another tragedy that struck Jol early in life was the death of Ineke Mikx, his wife and the mother of their son. Jol never remarried. One of the many physical complications Jol faced after the accident was the loss of function over his genitals. According to him, a lasting relationship was therefore not possible.
‘My father was a loving man’, says Robbert Jol. ‘A peacekeeper at heart. But also hard if necessary. I learned a lot from him.’