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pagina 38
Knipsel 1: Patriots keep war promise
Patriots keep war promise
When his P-51 Mustang ran into heavy flak over Cologne in 1944 and
was crippled, Capt. John Coleman, Yank fighter pilot on his 50th
mission, pushed it as far as Tilburg, Holland, and bailed out. It
was German-occupied territory, but he was hidden from the Germans by
two young members of the Dutch underground. Yesterday the pair, Jan
Franken, 22, and his sister Anna Maria, 19, paused at LaGuardia
Field en route to visit in Milwaukee the American flier they had
harbored for three and one-half weeks, until Tilburg was liberated.
Coleman and the Frankens made a pledge to visit each other at the
first opportunity. Coleman, now a food broker, saw the brother and
sister when he made a business trip to Holland several months ago.
At that time he arranged their present visit to America.
pagina 38
Knipsel 2: Hollanders on way to repay Yank's visits
Hollanders on way to repay Yank's visits
New York, July 31 (AP) ― Jan Franken, 22, and his sister Anna Maria,
19, of Tilburg, Holland, left New York airport today for Milwaukee,
Wis., to repay a couple of visits from Capt. John Coleman Jr. at
4455 N. Frederick av.
Coleman dropped in on the Frankens first in the spring of 1944,
parachuting from his flak-damaged P-51 Mustang fighter plane. The
Frankens said they hid him from the Germans until Scottish troops
drove the Germans back 3½ weeks later, and released him.
Coleman, a food broker, visited Holland several months ago the
second time and made arrangements for the Frankens to come to the
United States by boat, they said.
[De datering 'spring of
1944' is onjuist.]
pagina 40
Knipsel 3: Milwaukee Journal - krantenfoto met bijbehorende
tekst
Milwaukee Journal
Thursday, August 1, 1946
A Dutch brother and sister who hid him for a month after his
airplane was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire are now guests
at the home of Capt. John Coleman, jr. (left), 4455 N. Frederick av.
Others shown (from right) Jan Franken, Mrs. John Coleman, the young
captain's mother, and Jan's sister, Annemie. The dog is Roger; he
belongs to Coleman.
pagina 42
Knipsel 4: Dutch friends visit flyer - krantenfoto met
bijbehorende tekst
Dutch friends visit flyer
Jan Franken (left) and his sister, Anna Marie, of Tilburg, Holland,
visiting Capt. John Coleman jr. in Milwaukee. Wooden shoes are part
of disguise they gave him when he bailed out of his plane over their
home during the war.
pagina 42
Knipsel 5: Repaying visit
Repaying visit
Milwaukee, Wis., Aug. 1 [Special] — Repaying two visits paid to them
by Capt. John Coleman jr., Jan and Anna Marie Franken of Tilburg,
Holland, today were seeing Milwaukee sights. They arrived at
Coleman's home at 4455 N. Frederick av., this morning by air from
New York.
Coleman dropped in on the Frankens first in the spring of 1944,
parachuting from his flak-damaged P-51 Mustang fighter plane. The
Frankens hid him from the Germans until Scottish troops drove the
Germans back 3½ weeks later, and released him.
Coleman, a food broker, visited Holland several months ago the
second time and made arrangements for the brother and sister to come
to the United States by boat.
[De datering 'spring of
1944' is onjuist.]
pagina 44
Knipsel 6: Dutch pair repay flier's underground "visit" -
krantenfoto met bijbehorende tekst.
Dutch pair repay flier's underground "visit"
Two Dutch underground workers who protected him from the Germans in
1944 are shown being greeted by John Coleman jr. (left), of 4455 N.
Frederick Av., upon their arrival at Billy Mitchell Field yesterday.
The pair, Jan Franken, 22, and his sister Anna, 19, of Tilburg,
Holland, will spend a month with the former Air Forces officer.
pagina 46
Knipsel 7: He "dropped" in with Nazis close behind
He "dropped in" with Nazis close behind
The Frankens, Jan, 22, and his sister, Anna, 19, of Tilburg,
Holland, came to Milwaukee yesterday for a month's visit with a
former Milwaukee officer whom they had protected from the Germans
back in October, 1944. The Dutch pair is repaying a visit to them
several weeks ago bij former Capt. John Coleman jr., 4455 N.
Frederick Av. His first visit in the dark days of World War II was
accidental. He "dropped in" on the Frankens after he parachuted from
his flak-damaged Mustang fighter plane.
Met by host
They were met at Billy Mitchell Field by their host and appeared
pleased at the prospects of their visit with Coleman. So far, they
said, they got a thrill looking over America. But they want to get
back to Holland without taking in further parts of the States.
During the war, Jan, lankily built, was in the Dutch army field
security. Anna was a nurse. Today Jan is employed in his father's
woolen mill and his sister is a student in a college for social work
at Eindhoven.
Coleman, they said, was a splendid guest, and they liked him. In
fact he was the only Allied soldier who ever "billeted" that long at
their home. And he's welcome to come again and again, they said.
Guest "shot down"
The friendship was built under the strain of war but unlike many
others is destined to be permanent.
Coleman, son of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Coleman, was shot down by
German anti-aircraft fire Oct. 4, 1944, and remained with the
Frankens until Oct. 28 when the British liberated the town. With the
family he had a Dutch name, wore Dutch clothes and had a Dutch
identification card. Nazi officers were quartered in the house next
door and German soldiers searched the Franken home while he was
there. He made his escape with the aid of the Franken family.
Capt. Coleman was a sophomore at the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, when he enlisted. He was known as one of the 8th Air Force's
top fighter pilots. He flew 87 combat missions over Europe before
returning to the United States.
The former Army officer made arrangements several weeks ago for the
Frankens to come to Milwaukee. They came to New York from Rotterdam
by boat in nine days and then took to the air for the last leg of
their yourney here.
pagina 48
Knipsel 8: Milwaukee flier to be host to Dutch who aided escape +
fotootje John Coleman jr.
Milwaukee flier to be host to Dutch who aided escape
Miss Annemie Franken and her brother, Jan, will arrive in Milwaukee
Wednesday from their home in Tilburg, Holland, to spend a month at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Coleman, 4455 N. Frederick av. The
visitors were friends of Capt. John B. Coleman, jr., of the United
States 8th air force during World War II.
Behind that simple paragraph is the story of a friendship built on
great courage under the great pressures of war. It is the story of a
young Milwaukee flier, shot down by German anti-aircraft fire, who
was shielded from Nazi troops by a succession of Holland underground
stations and who finally lived a month in Tilburg as a member of the
Franken family. He had a Dutch name, wore Dutch clothes, and even
had a Dutch identification card. Nazi officers were billeted in the
house next door, and German soldiers searched the Franken home while
he was there. With the help of the Franken family he escaped. And
when the British finally wrested Tilburg from the Germans, he was
free to return to Milwaukee.
"Must stay a month"
Coleman and his parents began writing to the Franken family as soon
as mail communications were reopened. Out of that correspondence
developed the Coleman's invitation to their Dutch friends. And now
young Coleman is to introduce his young Dutch friends to his
parents. With understandable sentiment, the senior Colemans have
insisted that the Frankens must stay at least a month, since that
was the time their son spent at the Franken home.
Capt. Coleman, a graduate of Shorewood high school, enlisted prior
to Pearl Harbor while he was a sophomore at the University of
Michigan. He was one of the 8th air force's "hot" fighter pilots. He
flew 87 combat missions over Europe before returning to the United
States on leave. At his own request he returned to combat duty
again. On his fourth flight of this second tour of duty his plane
was riddled by "flak" over Hamburg, Germany. He nursed the damaged
plane across the border and then parachuted to Holland soil.
Taken to monastery
Coleman landed a half mile from barracks in which German occupation
troops were stationed, but a farmer came to his aid immediately. The
two hid Coleman's army clothing and equipment in a haystack. The
farmer then carried one piece of clothing at a time from his home to
the farm building where Coleman hid. After a short time he took
Coleman into his house, but almost at once a German searching party
arrived, hunting the flier. Coleman scurried out the back door as
the Nazis pounded on the front. That was the first of his escapes.
From the farm he was taken to a monastery, where Catholic brothers
hid him overnight and then helped him to reach another station along
the "underground railway". There were two more stops before he
reached Tilburg. There the Franken family became his protectors.
Nazis next door
Nazi officers were billeted next door. German boots pounded the
street many times each day, and for a month Coleman never left the
Franken house. When it was searched, the family hid him, fearful
that his lack of knowledge of their language would betray him. He
had to use an army Dutch-English language guide and of course he
could not thumb through it for phrases if a Nazi officer was
questioning him.
Finally the British came and Coleman was free tot leave. On Nov. 5,
one month after he was shot down, his parents here received his
cable: "Capt. John Coleman ecstatically announces he is no longer
missing in action." And now two of the persons who made it possible
for him to send that message will be guests of Coleman and his
parents.
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