Featured first on this page are two of my prized possessions. I was given these two small mementos by
Mr. Piet van Riel who has resided in Eerde his entire life. They were personally carved by Piet himself and feature the date
of the invasion, the Eerde windmill, the sand dunes and American paratroopers falling from the sky.
Piet is quite an accomplished artist and he paints, draws, carves wooden objects and weaves some
wonderful baskets. Piet and his family lived in the large house that sits next to the remainder of the Eerde windmill.
He witnessed first hand the Invasion of Holland and related some of his stories to me.
Prior to meeting Piet and his lovely wife, I was at the windmill taking pictures and by chance met
up with a couple of Dutch reinactors who asked if I wanted to meet a man(Piet) who lived next to the windmill during
the war. Of course I jumped at the chance! I was invited into the Van Riel home and treated like I had known them
for many years. Piet is a fan of Jack Daniels and was made an honorary member of the 101st Airborne Division some years ago.
My sincere thanks go out to all my friends in Holland. Without them I would not have met Piet and
his wife and would have had a difficult time finding some of the places that I wanted to see.
