Corporal Jaap W. Bothe gives advice to Dutch (resistance) farmers Toon Vervoort and Driek Eijkemans from Son just after a German mortar attack.
Bothe, who landed here with the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division was a liaison between the Airborne troops and the Dutch local resistance.
The photograph was made by Walter Cronkite, who sat opposite of Bothe in the same glider. Cronkite later recalled, he was "sh*tting his pants" when shells exploded in the air around them.
Jaap Bothe, a very well respected name within the history of the Dutch Korps Commandotroepen , was a member of the No. 2 Dutch Troop.
As a 16 year old, he escaped Germany since his father (who married a German woman) wanted him to join the Hitlerjugend. The young Bothe started working as a servant on the S.S. Towa on the Dutch-South America line. In the port of Montevideo he witnessed the sinking of the German battle cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in 1939.
On his way home he witnessed the hell of Dunkirk and made an emergency stop in Cardiff, only to miss the boat back home. That same ship was torpedoed by U-96 (Das Boot) and Jaap Bothe had escaped death.
Eventually, Bothe ended up in Canada and joined the Prinses Irene Brigade where also the No. 2. (Dutch) Troop was formed. In September 1944 some of these commando's were attached to several Airborne units to take part in Operation Market Garden.
Bothe was attached to the 101st Airborne Division. He was given an American paratrooper uniform and US army equipment and came in by Waco glider near Son, The Netherlands on September 18th, 1944. During the flight, war correspondent and post-war TV-Host Walter Cronkite was sitting opposite him. Most of his tasks were related to translating and mediating between the Dutch civilians and American troops.
In the middle of October, Jaap Bothe and the other members of No. 2 Dutch Troops were attached to the Nr. 4 Commando Brigade and would join the 52nd Lowland Division in the attack on Walcheren near Westkapelle and Vlissingen (Flushing). On November 1st, 1944, Corporal Bothe was part of the group that would go from Breskens to Flushing.
"When they launched the first attack near Flushing, I was in the second landing boat. Medic Bill de Liefde showed us the way and signalled with a green army lamp. Our boat hit a big pole. These poles were slippery wet and I couldn't get over it because of my rubber soles. I slipped back in and my backpack was in the way. Not really enjoyable when they fire their machine gun at you with tracer rounds."
The battles that followed were some of the toughest phases of his wartime experiences. Fortunately, Vlissingen was captured on November 3rd, 1944. Corporal Bothe made it out alive.
Jaap Bothe left the Army shortly after the liberation of Europe in 1945. He had a tough time getting back to work. He became a crane operator, but due to physical problems, he had to retire early after surviving a heart attack.
For his actions in WWII and the liberation of The Netherlands, Jaap was awarded the Bronzen Kruis (Bronze Cross) by Prince Bernhard on May 12, 1951.
In 1985 he donated his commando dagger, which he received after completing his commando training in 1942, to the collection of the Prinses Irene Brigade. It was a very emotional moment for him, but at least it was preserved.
