John McCormic’s grave and Lieux de Mémoire.

It has now been 71 years since the passing of the end of the Second World War. Every year the Netherlands remember the Second World War more strongly than the First World War.  The Netherlands were neutral during the First World War, and thus did not feel the need to memorise it as elaborately as the Second World War. Every year on the fourth of May the whole of the Netherlands remembers the horrors of the war, the suffering and the pain. The next day, the nation celebrates the fact that the Germans were defeated and the country was liberated by the Allied forces. Every year on the fourth of May, the Dorpsstraat in Zoetermeer becomes the centre of the memorial service. Every year, the scouting places flowers on the grave an American liberation soldier. But not just any soldier, the only American soldier to be buried in Zoetermeer, maybe even in the Netherlands. He has not been buried alone, he lies with three Dutch resistance comrades.

            This burial site was not chosen at random. The choice for this exact location was very specific: they could also have just buried him where he died, and let the world move on. The government decided against this option, and decided to create a monument that would always remind everyone who passes by of the sacrifice these men have made. The central question of this paper is: How is the grave in the Dorpsstraat Zoetermeer an example of the creation of a lieux de mémoire, and how does the creation of this monument connect with the cultures of memory at that time?

John McCormick was born in 1921.^[1] He lived a regular life until December 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan and President Roosevelt subsequently declared war.^[2] John McCormick signed up for the US Airforce in April 1942 and followed approximately two years of several trainings.^[3] Once he completed these, he was transferred to the English front. In 1944 John McCormick flew his first mission. This one, and his second mission, were both more or less successful. His third mission was less successful, and as a result McCormick was injured for a month. Once he recovered he was transferred to the #42-95241, “the Jolly Duck”.  Here, McCormick became part of a crew of nine, with pilot Joseph Walker in charge.^[4]

            On Thursday 22 February 1945, 31 aircrews were briefed on a secret mission to bomb Marshalling Yard in the German town Nordhausen. At a quarter past nine in the morning the bombers were airborne, and were on their way towards Germany.^[5] The primary target was unreachable, due to the smoke and mist above the target, caused by the German air defence systems. The Germans fired flack at the bombers, and they were forced to relocate to their secondary target: Northeim. This secondary target was successfully bombed, and the bombers returned to England.^[6] The Jolly Duck, was severely damaged by the German flack, and would never reach England. This forced Joseph Walker to return to Europe and locate a safe landing site. The plane crashed in the Geerpolder, just outside of Zoetermeer. The locals came out to assist the soldiers, and advised them to split up and take off. The soldiers, although unwilling, decided to follow their advice.^[7]

            They were in uneven numbers, and thus John McCormick had to flee alone. He took off to a nearby barn and hid from the Germans who had come to check on the crash.^[8] After the crash he stayed with a family of farmers until the Dutch Resistance could be notified where he was, and could collect him.^[9] He joined the Dutch Resistance and did what he could to thwart the Germans. On Sunday 29 April 1945, the press announced that a “Godsvrede”, a Gods peace, had been reached. This meant a complete suspension of violent activities. Even though this peace had been signed by all involved parties, around 18:30 PM, German soldiers attacked the Jachthuis where the members of the Resistance, including John, were stationed. McCormick and another member of the resistance were shot and killed on site. They were both buried outside the Jachthuis for the time being, until better arrangements could be made in October 1945.^[10] The other soldiers from the Jolly Duck managed to return home, or at least leave the Netherlands. John McCormick is the only one who never left, and was only 23 years old when he died. John McCormick lays buried with three Dutch Resistance fighters. Their headstone reads: “Hun vaderland getrouwe”, which translates to “faithful to their homeland”.

The place where McCormick and the resistance fighters are buried, always has been the centre for the remembrance service on May Fourth. The remaining veterans of the Second World War pay their respects to their fallen comrades. In 1995 one of the last living members of his final crew came to pay his respects as well.^[11]

The grave of John McCormick is a clear example of a lieux de mémoire, a place of memory. However, what is a lieux de mémoire? Lieux de mémoire, or place of memory is a concept developed by the French Sociologist Pierre Nora. Lieux de mémoire translates to place of memory. This does not necessarily have to be a tangible spot, it can also be a social construct. These places of memory are created because the modern society has changed a lot. Society these days, tends to focus on the future, on the young, and on looking ahead. But while we are looking ahead, planning our future, it is important that we do not lose track of our history.

            In another time, people did not need to rely on lieux de mémoire, but lived in millieux de mémoire.^[12] These environments of memory kept the past alive, treasured the old and in most cases mistrusted the new. Then times changed, and modernity set in. History “accelerated”, and lieux de mémoire originated out of the sense that there no longer is any spontaneous form of memory, that the society now has to create archives, maintain anniversaries, because these events are no longer naturally occurring.^[13]

            The grave of these fallen heroes in this sense is a clear example of the creation of a place of memory after the Second World War. Initially, the fallen were given a brief burial in the fields near the Jachthuis where they were killed. It wasn’t until the war was over for several months, that the government decided to give these soldiers a proper burial. And so on 31 October 1945, the fallen heroes were given a proper funeral. The government decided to create a specific grave for them. But even though there are only four bodies in the grave, the grave represents not just the four of them. The grave has become a place of memory, not only to remember McCormick and the fallen resistance fighters, but to remember everything that happened during the war, to remember everyone who suffered or died during this horrible conflict.

            This connects perfectly to the cultures of memory just after the Second World War. The horror was over, and now it was time to heal society, to look to the future. The only way they could do that was to honour the fallen, the heroes rather than forgive the perpetrators. By concentrating on the beautiful, tragic bravery of the young men who perished during the war, the society could heal, move on and look ahead.

The grave still stands proud today, reminding everyone who passes by of the battles that were fought, the suffering, the horror, but also the heroics, the bravery, the courage of these men and every other man in the war. Every year many veterans that live in the area come to pay their respects, to remember. The places of memory often illustrate the more general process whereby a society represents the past in a tangible place in order to claim this part of history as a part of the nation.^[14] These places of memory, lieux de mémoires are important because through them, individuals learn to ‘remember’ the past.^[15]

Bibliography

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, ‘Pearl Harbor Attack: Japanese – United States History’: https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack (25-10-2016). 

Havinga, Maarten & Sylvan Staub, ‘John McCormick’: https://www.jollyduck.com/john-mccormick (25-10-2016).

Havinga, Maarten & Sylvan Staub, ‘De Crash (22-02-1945)’: https://www.jollyduck.com/de-crash (25-10-2016).

Havinga, Maarten & Sylvan Staub, ‘De Ontsnapping’: https://www.jollyduck.com/de-ontsnapping (25-10-2016).

Havinga, Maarten & Sylvan Staub, ‘Bij het Zoetermeerse Verzet’: https://www.jollyduck.com/bij-het-zoetermeerse-verzet (25-10-2016).

Havinga, Maarten & Sylvan Staub, ‘Elmer E. Duerr’: https://www.jollyduck.com/elmer-e-duerr (25-10-2016).

Nora, Pierre, ‘Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire’, Representations 26 1989) 7-24.

Till, Karen E., ‘Places of Memory’. In John Agnew, Katharyne Mitchell & Gerard Toal (eds.), A Companion to Political Geography (Oxford 2003).