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Show 7 HiDtopIS&fi April 27, 2000 t Survivor recalls air drop by Dave Kendziora Ogden ALC Historian Webster defines thievery as the act or practice or an instance of stealing. Jerry Meents of Ogden recalls being the biggest little thief in Amsterdam at one time, but theres more to this story than that Meents was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1930 of Dutch parents. His father was Jewish, so he, along with his four brothers and one sister, found their childhood abridged by World War II. Meents credits the U.S. Army Air Forces with saving lives in Amsterdam, including d his own, by airdropping food to the citys residents in April 1945. As Meents was the oldest son and since his father was hidden in their apartment Jerry was obliged to provide for himself and his family. For months prior to the much-neede- spring of 1945, this long-haire-d, teenager was out and about on the streets of Amsterdam taking whatever he could to help his family surbadly-needing-a-ba- f then-skinn- y, th vive. i It was a terrible time 20,000 people died of starvation before help arrived, he said. I remember there were people dead in the streets and bodies wrapped in paper and stacked in a church because there was no wood for caskets. We ate every dog and cat we could get our hands on. But to our relief, Meents recalls, one day there were planes flying very low dropping square metal containers. We were so happy to find food in them! It was food, it Meents said. This may be a was fantastic... It saved our lives! The flights delivered all sorts of food: condensed milk, meat and vegetables, butter, cereal and chocolate. Some of the milk containers broke, but that was OKbecause many did not allowing the flights to take place uncon- tested. From May Eighth Air Force dis- d. patched more than 2,000 tons ' v of food to ofWestem Europe became relatively friendly territory again. Schipol, the ai- Meents recently contacted the Ogden ALC History Office, looking for a record on the April 1945 food flights. He hadnt heard much about it, except from a few others, and thought the event was little known. Only a brief paragraph is found in the book, The U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, written in 1951: By the beginning of May, the Eighth Air Force had no further combat assignments. near rport Meents home. After file war, Meents served Courtesy photo photograph, taken from the book Nooit Vergeten! (Never Forget) shows American bombers dropping food and supplies to the Netherlands. How great was the sight of those big bombers when they came just before Germany surrendered, the caption reads, when they came very low over the cities with their peaceful loads. A in the Dutch Army and, in 1948, moved to Israel where he served in the Israeli Army. He saw combat, includ- ing action behind opposition lines. In 1951, he married the former Hanna Nieuwen-burg in Amsterdam. The Meents moved to Ogden in 1957, where he joined the U.S. Armys 19th Spe-cial Forces Group. His specialties were Instead, mercy missions to drop food to the famished population of the Netherlands became the priority. Excellent kits were made on the racetrack outside of The Hague and a golf course near Rotterdam. There is no mention of the flights to Amsterdam in April. Possibly they were allowed more or less on the spur of the moment in what was still hostile territory. T couldnt believe that the artillery ablock away from my home didnt fire at the planes, You ZMiJ Meknown tribute to all sides Meents recalls first his setting eyes on an American. It was early one morning as two of them, who had parachuted from a plane, were being taken prisoner. He says hell never forget when one of them, Jerry, winked at upon noticing wide-eyehim as if to say, dont worry, its OK. It was. In May 1945, Holland and much GENES , and intelligence., . r stint in the Spe-- . Following a 3 cial Forces and three years living in Iowa, the Meents returned to Ogden, where he 12-yea- became a small businessman. Initially he was a sales representative for electronic equipment and later he opened his own Can Live the store. He sold his store this past January and, with Hanna, now thoroughly enjoys his retirement at Ogden Citys Golf and Coun- try Club. Meents and his wife will speak Monday at Dugway Proving Ground as part of the Annual Days of Remembrance of the tims of the Holocaust Observance. The program will be from 11:30 a.m.-- l p.m. in the Kuddes Conference Room, sponsored by the J oint Contact Point and the Equal Employment Opportunity Office. For more details, call the Dugway EEO office at DSN Vic-demoliti- 789-361- 1. Dream ! 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