World War II
In May 1940, just a few days before the Germans attacked Holland, he returned from his tour of duty in the Dutch East Indies as Navigation Officer aboard the Admiralen class destroyer HNLMS Van Galen. On 10 May 1940 the Germans invaded, and the Van Galen was sent to shell German paratroopers which had landed around Rotterdam and Waalhaven airport. The ship had to steam into the narrow Nieuwe Waterweg, where she was attacked and soon sunk by Stuka dive-bombers.
Read more about this topic: Hans Larive
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or war:
“History is strewn with the wrecks of nations which have gained a little progressiveness at the cost of a great deal of hard manliness, and have thus prepared themselves for destruction as soon as the the movements of the world gave a chance for it.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“The contention that a standing army and navy is the best security of peace is about as logical as the claim that the most peaceful citizen is he who goes about heavily armed. The experience of every-day life fully proves that the armed individual is invariably anxious to try his strength. The same is historically true of governments. Really peaceful countries do not waste life and energy in war preparations, with the result that peace is maintained.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)