Heije Schaper (8 September 1906 – 26 May 1996) was a Dutch naval and air force officer and

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

of the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. Schaper a highly decorated

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

officer was awarded the

Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...

, the highest honour of the Netherlands on 15 November 1940. Schaper served in the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

and later the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. He was the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force from 1 May 1956 until 1 September 1961 and the Chairman of the United Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of the Netherlands (highest-ranking military officer) from 1 November 1957 until 10 May 1959. He retired from active service in 1961 and served as State Secretary for Defence, tasked with Air Force affairs from 22 June 1966 until 5 April 1967.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
H. (Heije) Schaper
Parlement & Politiek 1906 births 1996 deaths Aide-de-camp to the Monarch of the Netherlands Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commanders of the Royal Netherlands Air Force Dutch aviators Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Engelandvaarders Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Independent politicians in the Netherlands Knights Fourth Class of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Netherlands Air Force generals Royal Netherlands Air Force officers Royal Netherlands Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots Royal Netherlands Navy admirals Royal Netherlands Naval College alumni Royal Netherlands Navy officers Royal Netherlands Navy personnel of World War II Royal Netherlands Navy pilots Shot-down aviators Stalag Luft III prisoners of World War II State Secretaries for Defence of the Netherlands Submariners People from Skarsterlân Military personnel from The Hague World War II prisoners of war held by Germany 20th-century Dutch military personnel 20th-century Dutch politicians {{Netherlands-politician-stub