A Cupful of Memories

                                                           A Cupful of Memories

                                                             Suzanne Marsh

     The sound of the trains once again woke him from sleep. He slipped quietly out of bed, not wanting to disturb his wife of fifty years. He raced toward the window, his mind going back in time. He tried to let the past go but the dreams continued. He stood quietly staring out the window and into the past.

           May 20^th, 1943

           The dark clouds meant rain, but also cloud cover for a mission he did not want to go on. He had twenty three missions under his belt; two more and he would rotate home. Just as he took off, the rain began. It would not affect him until he climbed higher, but this mission called for low flying, something he had done on several missions. This mission he did not want but because of his flying experience he was chosen. His mission was to bomb Euterpestraat 99; Gestapo Headquarters, Amsterdam, Holland. There was a prisoner that the Gestapo wanted to make talk. He knew the names of every resistance fighter in Holland. 

           The night before he had spent with his fiancée Mary Bellingham. The evening had been bitter sweet for them. He had finally asked her to marry him. Now, this mission. Billy Martin, thought again about the mission he was on. Bombing the Gestapo Headquarters meant not only killing Hermann van Hocht but all the other prisoners in the building including innocents. He couldn't think about that. This mission was important, if the names of the resistance fell into Gestapo hands there would be no resistance in Holland. 

           Flack began to explode as he crossed over the border into Holland. His B17 rose above the flack temporarily, spot lights began to appear everywhere. He knew he had been spotted; he had been warned that it would. All he really longed-for was to return to the United States, Mary was in England but he wanted to see home again before they married. With these thoughts in mind, Billy Martin maneuvered the B17 Flying Fortress on toward Euterpestraat 99. He prayed that there were no women or children in the building. The Gestapo in recent months had been busy rounding up more Jews. Billy had seen some of the recon photos, of the “camps”. He had been briefed by a Pole named Witold Pilecki who had escaped from Auschwitz and delivered photos of the horrors that were taking place in the “camps”. He could not get the images out of his mind of women being gassed with small children. 

           Billy shook himself, he was over his target, his bombardier Dick Minton signaled him to open the bomb bay doors. Billy pushed the button and the bombs dropped on the Gestapo headquarters. He turned the plane to head back to England. The plane was hit, he could see smoke spewing from the right front engine. The plane began to rock, as more flack began to hit the plane. He could feel the B17 losing power, they were going down, in Nazi occupied Holland.

           They crash landed in an open field near Amsterdam. Out of the crew of ten only Billy survived. Across the field a young woman watched in horror. Then she shook herself and ran toward the plane. She grabbed Billy by the hand, pulling him along as she ran toward a “safe house” where she knew he would be safe for the moment. The “safe house” was actually the young Dutch woman's home. She explained once inside that she was part of the Dutch Resistance. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He ask her name, she would not give it to him:

           “If I know your name, and I am captured you will find yourself in one of the “camps”. During

            the day you must be very quiet. There is a cupboard that is large enough to hold you if

            the Gestapo pay a visit. Thus far, I have helped fifty Air Force men escape, you will be

            number fifty one.”

Billy thought about that for several moments. Here was a beautiful young Dutch woman risking her

life to keep him safe and get him back to England. He knew better than to ask questions but he did:

           “Can't you at least tell me your name?”

           “I can give you a name that you may call me it is Eva Jansen.”

He gave her a crooked smile:

           “I am glad to meet you Eva Jansen.”

With that thought she showed him where he would sleep. He would sleep while she made arrangements for him to leave Holland as quickly as possible. He would not be there more than

three days if that. She quickly walked down the straat toward a small apartment complex. She knocked twice then three times in rapid succession. The tall blond blue eyed man named Hans opened the door. She told him she had another airman that needed aid to get out of Holland. He crashed landed in a field she told him; he was the only survivor. They made preparations to move him the following dawn. There were no people outside at that time. They would move him to another “safe house” on the other side of Amsterdam, where and who were never mentioned. It was safer for all of those concerned.

           Henk, would be the one to take him to the “safe house”. They knew there was an informant in their resistance unit, they just had not determined who as of yet. Henk, arrived at Eva Jansen's apartment at five in the morning, the prearranged time. He then told the lanky American to follow him. Suddenly a black Mercedes Benz began to follow them. Then a dark green truck pulled out of nowhere. Two Gestapo men in the Mercedes jumped out of the car, handed Henk two hundred Guilders. Billy knew then he had been betrayed, he knew just as any good pilot that all that was required of him was his name, rank and serial number. He also knew that the chances were good he would find himself in a Prisoner of War camp.

           The Gestapo took him to Euterpestraat 99, although he had just bombed it, he thought he had completely destroyed it only to discover that the recon had been wrong, it was a complex of buildings. Captain Ludwig von Sapperstein, motioned for the guard to take Billy into the room on the end. The moment Billy stepped through the door, he realized he was in mortal danger. Sapperstein waited as the guards, stripped Billy, and cuffed him to the chair. Sapperstein said nothing, he just walked over a gave Billy a gut punch that sent him and the chair reeling. Then Sapperstein, his cold gray eyes watching:

           “are you the flyer that bombed our headquarters, it vill go easier on you if you tell me ze truth.”

Billy, answered defiantly:

           Martin, William B.

           Captain, US Army Air Corp

           US5177534

von Sapperstein's eye brows shot up as he gave Billy an incredulous look:

           “you vill tell me vhat I vish to know! I can have you shot for being a spy or I

            can send you to one of our “special camps”.

Billy once again repeated:

           Martin, William B

           Captain, US Army Air Corp

           US5177534

This anger von Sapperstein, he motioned for one of the guards to bring a heated poker iron, he then put the hot point on Billy's fingernails, pulling them off. Billy passed out from the pain. The guard dragged him back to a cell. The following morning, Billy found himself on a train. He was in a cattle car, with other men, women and children. Mostly Jewish. One man tried to help him to his feet. He whispered to Billy that this train was bound for Buchenwald concentration camp. Billy felt ill, he should be on his way home not on his way to a death camp. 

           As the train began to unload Billy was motioned to the right, he would live.  He was beaten a put into a holding cell, just for good measure. Several days later he was forced to work in the quarries, it was then that he noticed Eva Jansen, doing the same thing. He never got the chance to speak to her, but silently in his heart he thanked her for all she had done. 

           Once Buchenwald was liberated, Billy spoke to General Dwight D. Eisenhower:

           Billy saluted the General as he began his narrative:

           “I was captured in Amsterdam, Holland after I bombed Gestapo Headquarters. Then I was

            betrayed by a man named Henk. I sent to Buchenwald, tattooed and put to work in the

            stone quarries. I was beaten with a truncheon. I am very thankful General Eisenhower to

           to be rescued from this hell on earth. Do you know if a young woman named Eva Jansen was?

           also liberated. The General motioned for someone to check the list of women they had. There

           was no Eva Jansen mentioned? One of the woman prisoners, heard the name, she informed

           the Captain that Eva Jansen had perished in Buchenwald in January.”

Billy signed as he went back to bed, he felt the warmth of Mary as he once again went to sleep. The death of Eva Jansen would haunt him until the day he died. All he had was a cup full of memories of a time in his life that he continually tried to forget