Pieter Johannes Hoets (April 24, 1921 – August 28, 2014) was a Dutch

Engelandvaarder ''Engelandvaarder'', (literally translated as "England sailer") was the term given during the Second World War to men and women who attempted to escape from the Netherlands across over 100 miles of the North Sea to reach England and freedom. O ...

, an active Dutch resistance fighter against the

Nazi occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

in WW-II.

World War II

After a failed attempt to sail to England on June 19, 1940, he eventually left the country from

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf (canal), Delf and the Ems (riv ...

on October 13, 1944. In

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

he signed up as a volunteer and was assigned to the Dutch Intelligence in Stockholm to interrogate new arrivals. After he arrived in England, he served in the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...

Post-war

After the war he immigrated to the US, where he studied US law at Yale University, joined

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

where he became Chief Counsel for Coca Cola Europe, and later joined New York-based Reid & Priest, a law firm with 160 attorneys founded in 1935 with an office in Washington, D.C.. Hoets authored five historic books, including ''De Yale Connection. De jacht op de Marcos-miljarden en het Zwitsers bankgeheim'' ("The Yale Connection. Hunting the Marcos billions and Swiss banking secrecy.")

Death

Hoets died on August 28, 2014, in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, the United States.

Military and Knight's Orders

Cross of Merit (Netherlands) On 20 February 1941, the Dutch government in exile in London instituted several new awards for bravery. The new way that wars were fought, with civilian resistance and the merchant navy in great peril, made this necessary. Amongst the new decoratio ...

Oorlogsherinneringskruis The War Commemorative Cross ( nl, Oorlogsherinneringskruis) is a Orders, decorations, and medals of the Netherlands, military award of the Netherlands. The medal was established to commemorate service to the Kingdom of the Netherlands during World ...

with four stars (

War Memorial Cross The War Commemorative Cross ( nl, Oorlogsherinneringskruis) is a military award of the Netherlands. The medal was established to commemorate service to the Kingdom of the Netherlands during World War II. The medal was established on 16 March 1944 ...

) * Verzetsherdenkingskruis (

Resistance Memorial Cross The Resistance Memorial Cross or Resistance Commemorative Cross ( nl, Verzetsherdenkingskruis) is a medal awarded in the Netherlands to members of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War. The medal was instituted by Royal Decree (No. 104 ...

) * Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

Bibliography

* ''Vrijgevaren!'' Met voorwoord van

Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema Siebren Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (3 April 1917 – 26 September 2007) was a Dutch writer who became a resistance fighter and RAF pilot during the Second World War. Near the end of the war he was adjudant (assistant) to Queen Wilhelmina. He was ...

(1976), * ''Englandspiel ontmaskerd. Schijnstoot op Nederland en België 1942–1944'' (1990), * ''Spookspoor naar Moskou'' (1996), * ''De Yale Connection. De jacht op de Marcos-miljarden en het Zwitsers bankgeheim''. Met medewerking van Alexander Münninghoff (2000), * ''Buitengaats! Met een Engelandvaarder de wereld in'' (2006),

References