May 1945
The sun is warm and so bright. I can feel the warmth on my face. It feels good. The noises around me are different; I have not heard them before. I am a little afraid, but my brother is holding my hand and my parents are with us. We hear people talking. Some are singing. It sounds nice, but I do not understand what is going on around me. I do not hear the frightening noise of the alarm that always sounds before an airplane flies over. The airplanes make a noise that we do not like.
May 2015
The sun is warm and bright. I have sunglasses on, and that helps. I am in a different country, sitting at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. I am waiting for the ceremony to start, to commemorate the end of the war in Europe 70 years ago. The sun is burning me; I put my bag on my feet to stop the burning. During the speeches, my mind wanders; 70 years seems like yesterday, and for the first time in many years, I really miss my parents. Their soothing and comforting words were always there to make us feel better. They shielded us and loved us.
When the ceremony is over, I help to place a red, white, and blue wreath on the memorial, together with a representative of the Dutch Embassy. We are in for a special treat. We are waiting for a flyover of vintage planes used during World War II. The setting is beautiful; the planes will appear above the Lincoln Memorial and f ly over the monuments and the Mall. When the first planes arrive, I realize this was the noise that I had almost forgotten, that was so frightening to me. Seventy years ago, I was afraid that a bomb would fall from the plane. Now, I miss my brother’s hand. Sidney, my husband, knows me so well, and there is his hand, warm and steady, and I feel safe.
After seeing some of the planes, we decide to walk to some trees to get shade. As we turn around, we see thousands of people, all around the Washington Monument. Everyone has come out to see the planes that took part in liberating me, 70 years before.
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