Johannes Reinier Odekerken- soldier Of Honor Poem by Mario, Lucien, Rene Odekerken

No trumpets sounded when he fell,
no banners waved upon the wind.
Far from home, on foreign soil,
he bore his fate, a duty sworn.

Ambon was his post,
the battleground harsh,
but the enemy came like a storm.
Captured, his freedom stolen,
his strength was broken, but not his soul.

Hainan, a name without mercy,
where toll knew no end.
His hands worn raw, his body frail,
hunger a weapon, disease his chains.

Beri-Beri took what remained,
the sun looked on, unmoved, cold.
On August 10th, the war had ended,
but for him, peace came too late.

Perhaps he rests now in Sai Wan,
among brothers who shared his fate.
A name in stone, but not forgotten,
his sacrifice lives in on our hearts.

Johannes Reinier Odekerken,
soldier of honor,
fallen for his homeland.
Not merely lost,
but remembered forever,
a hero in silence, a light in time.

'In memory of my uncle
Johannes Reinier Odekerken
who died on August 10th 1945
in a prisoner of war camp in
Hainan -China
He is buried at the
Sai Wan War Cemetery in Hong Kong'