Dutch Fliers Exhibit Opening at Armed Forces Museum

RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY of DUTCH FLIERS EXHIBIT
TO BE HELD AT ARMED FORCES MUSUEM
    
 
    CAMP SHELBY, Miss. – A ribbon cutting ceremony for a “Dutch Fliers” exhibit will be held May 19, 2017, at 10 a.m. at the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center.
     The exhibit highlights the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School that was established in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1942, that trained about 800 pilots, aircrew and ground crew to fight in World War II.
     “The school trained select Dutch military and police personnel from the Dutch East Indies as pilots and aircrew at the Jackson Army Air Base,” said Chad Daniels, Mississippi Armed Forces Museum director. “A few select pilots were sent to Europe as replacements to the British Royal Air Force’s 322nd Fighter Squadron comprised of Dutch volunteers.” 
     Forty-three of these Dutch veterans are buried in the Netherlands military cemetery located within Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Jackson, a location near the Jackson Army Air Base, now known as Hawkins Field. 
     The annual commemoration and memorial ceremony for the Dutch Fliers will be held May 20, 2017, at 10 a.m. at Cedar Lawn Cemetery.
 
     Guests scheduled to attend both events include Erik Looman, Netherlands Embassy military attaché, and Constance Willems, honorary consul of The Netherlands, as well as Mississippi descendants of the Dutch veterans.    
     Media interested in covering these events should contact 2nd Lt. Rachel Henson at             601-988-5949 or rachel.c.henson.mil@mail.mil.