Page 6 - AHATA OCT 19 2020

a8 local
Monday 19 october 2020

Aruba and the Second World War

living or staying on the is- ment in the dark, turned on
land. On the evening of their lights in the house and
May 10, 180 French marines drove the car, headlights
landed in Aruba to assist in on, to the coast, hoping to
the defense of the island. spot the submarine.
The Lago was reinforced
with anti-aircraft guns and The main target for the
Oranjestad and San Nico- submarine, however, was
las were darkened at night, Lago. In those days there
as were the two refineries, was no eclipse, the target
the Lago and the Arend. was there in full light. After
firing the torpedoes, U-156
In July 1940, the French surfaced and they hurried
troops were relieved by to prepare the heavy guns
English and Scottish troops. on deck of the submarine
Aruba itself only had a Dakota airport was actu- to bombard the refinery. In
small regiment of soldiers, ally too small for that. The the excitement of the mo-
the Volunteer Korps Aruba runway was extended and ment, however, the gun-
SAN NICOLAS — The small over the refinery and the (V.K.A.). That is why con- had to be re-paved. Large ner on duty forgot to re-
island of Aruba played a North and West coasts. scription was introduced camouflaged parking lease the shut-off valve at
very important role in the and in December 1940 the spaces for the American the bottom of the cannon:
Second World War. At that Aruba was regularly visited first batch appeared. To planes were built around when firing the first projec-
time, the Lago was one of by German ships in those meet the need for shelter the airport. The area was tile, the heavy cannon ex-
the largest refineries in the years, but when the Ger- for the military, construc- cordoned off with barbed ploded killing the gunner.
world in terms of produc- mans invaded the Nether- tion was done in Oranjes- wire and guarded by
tion. The gasoline refined lands and war broke out tad and in Savaneta. In American soldiers. The This fatal mistake escaped
at Lago was used for the between the two coun- Oranjestad, a shelter for main road from Oranjestad the Lago from virtually total
Allied planes and so the is- tries, only the German ship officers was built, which to San Nicolas also had to destruction, because after
land became a vital point Antilla was anchored at after the war served as a be relocated due to the ex- the loss of this cannon the
in the Western Hemisphere: Malmok. Since it was now so-called pasanggrahan pansion of the airport. This submarine only had much
for the Americans to de- a ship belonging to a na- and then continued to initially ran from the city, lighter guns on board. The
fend and for the Germans tion with which the Nether- serve as a government of- starting at Fergusonstraat, refinery and the buildings
to attack. Torpedoes were lands was at war, the ship fice for decades. Behind directly to Parkietenbos, around it were still fired with
fired on ships and on the was surrounded by soldiers it, the NCO's quarters was where the connection with this, but the damage was
Aruban coast. and the crew was ordered built, which later became the coastal road still exists, very limited. For example,
to surrender. When threat- the Recipient's Office. The at the level of the rubbish Aruba crawled through
Already in 1939, when the ened with violence, the buildings along the harbor dump. From that point the the eye of the needle that
threat of war was in the crew boarded lifeboats of Oranjestad, which after coastal road was contin- night, but not only because
air, the first measures were and the captain set the the war were converted ued towards Oranjestad, of the failure of the bom-
taken for the defense of ship on fire. It broke in half into a cinema, restaurant along the sea. Since April bardment of the Lago:
the island and the refinery. and sank just offshore. The and department stores 1942, this coastal road has there was another ship,
At Juana Morto, the high- crew was detained and by businessman De Veer, become L.G. Smith Boule- loaded with 3000 tons of
est point on the eastern later transferred to the in- were converted during vard, after the then Lago TNT (dynamite), in the har-
part of the island, a coastal ternment camp on Bonaire, the war as canteens and director. The airport termi- bor. The Henry Gibbons
battery was built with views as well as other Germans dormitories. In Savaneta a nal building was also built had not yet set sail when
camp was built for Scottish on this new coastal road. the torpedo attack began.
troops (The Cameron High- On the night of February 16, The crew first wanted to
landers) and after the war a large-scale attack by the drink coffee before choos-
for the Dutch Marine Corps. German submarine U-156 ing the sea. . . With a di-
took place. Several torpe- rect hit, the destruction on
In late 1941, America be- does hit ships lying off the Aruba would have been
came involved in the war coast or in port. The Peder- unimaginably great.
and the entire Caribbean nales was the first, the Oran-
came under American jestad the next to be hit. A day later, a torpedo was
surveillance. In January Both ships caught fire and found on the beach near
1942 the first American sol- sank. More followed that the Arend refinery. In an
diers arrived in Aruba, after night. The number of vic- unsuccessful attempt to
which the Scots left again. tims was large. Some Aru- dismantle it, some soldiers
bans, still unaware of the were killed.
Heavy American bomb- importance of being dark-
ers visited Aruba and the ened during a bombard- Continued on Page 9