GOD EN SOLDAAT
(God and the Soldier)
Wij wenden ons tot God en Jan Soldaat
In hoge nood als bittere strijd ons wacht
De nood voorbij, het land in vredesstaat
Vergeten wordt de heer en Jan soldaat veracht
English Translation:
We call upon God and the John the Soldier
In times of deep crisis and when fierce fighting awaits us.
When the crisis is over and the country back in a state of peace
Forgotten will be the Lord, and John the Soldier will be despised
Author Unknown
Contributor's Note: This anonymous poem was given to me by my father (photo below) who is a veteran of the 2nd World War resistance, and from 1946 until 1950, in the former Dutch East-Indies. He found the poem in "Bronbeek", which is an old people's home especially for veterans from the former K.N.I.L. (Royal Netherlands Indies Army). Very few (very old) veterans live there because most of them have passed away.
Patrick van Dijk
Karel van Dijk: 1946
Photograph taken in 1946 at the Dutch Base in Buitenzorg (now called Bogor) in Java, Indonesia (back then called Dutch Indies)