BARTON, W.Va — It was during World War II and John Althuizen’s native Netherlands had been attacked and occupied by the Germans.

When he received notice that he was to report for forced labor in Germany, he made a decision that would have a lifelong impact.

Instead of joining the force, Althuizen, 15, went underground for 18 months. The group he was with helped Allied forces, especially when the Germans shot down their planes. Althuizen and the others would take off on their bikes to try to locate those who parachuted to safety. They’d put them on their back seat and pedal them to the farm where they stayed in a hollow grain silo.

After a day or so, the men would make it to Belgium and eventually to England.

On Sept. 14, 1944, Holland was liberated and those underground were given jobs to keep the peace and protect the citizens.

The U.S. Army’s 7th Armored Division was located there and Althuizen began talking to the soldiers, who eventually asked him to join their unit.

It was through that division that he met Roy Dawson of Barton on Oct. 22, 1944.

“I remember because I’m a little younger,” Althuizen, 82, said as he sat in Dawson’s home Thursday.

The war buddies have remained good friends over the decades, with a natural sense of humor and a common bond. They chat frequently and Dawson receives a card every time the Althuizens visit Holland, which is every June. They also see each other yearly at the division’s reunions.

During last year’s reunion the Althuizens made the commitment to come to Barton.

“I’d promised them 30 or 40 years ago we’d come for a visit,” Althuizen said.

He and his wife, Jeanne, arrived in Barton from California on Wednesday for a quick, two-day visit.

“He made me the proudest man in Barton just for coming,” Dawson said, adding Althuizen is a “nice fellow” who sticks to his word.

They spent their time having good dinners and talking about their war service.

Dawson, who lives a few doors down from where he was born, said he didn’t have a choice to join the Army and it wasn’t something he would have volunteered for.

But fight they did with both taking part in the Battle of the Bulge. Althuizen, a private, was wounded twice during the war and received a Purple Heart. Dawson was a staff sergeant and “made it through the whole war with not one scratch.”

When the war ended, Althuizen wanted to come to the United States but wasn’t able to until November 1946. Arriving in San Francisco, he had 25 cents to his name. He first became a busboy in a San Francisco hotel before marrying and becoming a landscape designer and contractor.

After the passing of his first wife, he married Jeanne in 1962 and had four children. Both have family remaining in Holland and visit there yearly.

When Dawson returned from the war, he worked in the coal mines and then the Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. until retirement in 1979. His wife, Jane, died in 1998.

Although this reunion between friends was brief, they hope to see each other in September in Nashville where members of the 7th Armored Division will gather. Dawson, who at a few weeks shy of 92 doesn’t want to drive that far, is hoping to find someone to get him there.

“I just hope I can get there this year,” Dawson said. “There’s not many of us left.”

Jeanne said those reunions once found 700 to 800 attending but that’s now dropped to about 130.



Maria Smith writes for the Cumberland (Md.) Times-News.