Hans de Vries Flight Lieutenant No. 18 Squadron NEI / RAAF

When the war reached Java, he fled on the merchant ship the KPM SS Boissevain to Freemantle. He was despatched to the RAAF training camp near Lake Macquarie and from here he was send to the Jackson, Mississippi to be trained on the B25 bombers. He was assigned to the No. 18 Squadron NEI / RAAF operating from the Batchelor Airfield, Northern Territory. He flew bombing missions against Japanese military strongholds and shipping. He was highly decorated.

Major Jan Willem Zijlstra – Sparrow Force Timor WWII

Military record Born in Malang, Java, on 27 December 1910. Died at “Ladang” House, near Berry, New South Wales, Australia, on October 6, 1965. Army number 102417002 Second lieutenant KNIL Army (31-07-1932),  First Lieutenant (31-07-1935),  Captain. (27-05-1943), Major (17-12-1949).   Well-known decorations: ·         Ereteken Belangrijke/Bijzondere Krijgsbedrijven/-verrichtingen BK,E.1,OHK.3,OV.1,XV,KLO·         Bronze Cross K.B. Read more