Five Brothers and a War

Private Bertus van Pelt

Bertus’ time in the army started off badly when he was “jailed” for half of the journey to Indonesia. It did not improve when he arrived. One night during the changing of the guard, a soldier standing behind Bertus made a comment about the sergeant’s methodology of shouting orders. The sergeant, assuming that it was Bertus with the big, insubordinate mouth, snarled, “Shut up van Pelt!”. Bertus replied calmly that he hadn’t said anything. The backtalk, not surprisingly, did not impress the sergeant, who instantly told Bertus that he was “on report”. Also not surprisingly, Bertus became angry, and could not keep his thoughts to himself. He told the sergeant to drop dead, and then left the formation to head back to his barracks. The matter was very rapidly escalated from the sergeant to the company major, who just as rapidly ordered Bertus to spend two weeks in the brig. He was told that he could be court-martialed for his offense. Bertus had not yet learned that the army is not a democracy, and they usually are not interested in hearing the opinions of enlisted personnel. Information and opinions have a distinct tendency to move only from top to bottom, and Bertus was decisively at the bottom—the very bottom. Bertus does not recall what he did to be thrown in the slammer the next time, but does recall the circumstances of his confinement. The cell was small and had no windows. The only chance for any fresh air was through the door, and this was entirely inadequate. The walls were made of bamboo, like everything else in the camp. Usually, the door to the cell was left open to allow for better ventilation. To say that this was typical of a Dutch operation is an understatement. But the sergeant, seeing Bertus in the cell with the door open, determined that regulations were not being followed and ordered the door closed. This did not meet with Bertus’ approval, and he decided that to improve his living conditions, he would push over the bamboo wall to get fresh air. It took only a few pushes to accomplish his remodeling project. By now, Bertus was lying on his cot in the great outdoors for any and all passersby to see. One of the people who passed by was the company major, who was unimpressed all over again. But this time, Bertus came up with an argument that actually held water. He said that the Geneva Convention required prisoners to be held in livable conditions. While the Geneva Convention actually covers enemy combatants, the point was made that the brig was not satisfactory. His sentence was reduced. The army wrote a letter to Leendert, which apparently was required before court martialing anyone under the age of 20 years. Leendert wrote back that while Bertus was his son, he should be dealt with in whatever manner was necessary to teach him a lesson. Eventually, a friendly lieutenant and a less friendly Lieutenant-Colonel impressed the need for Bertus to actually act like a soldier. At long last, Bertus was under control—sort of. By now, Leen had arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city (though at time it was named “Batavia”) to work for the Bruynzeel company. Leen was stationed on Borneo, whereas Bertus was in other parts of the sprawling nation. Bertus, who was given a few days leave, met Leen upon his arrival. For Bertus, the time together was a great relief from the normal stresses of day-to-day life in the jungles and heat of Indonesia—and the army.

van Pelt

Five Brothers and a War

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