Bernard van AKEN
Date of Birth: 21 February 1920
Place of Birth: Salatiga, Central Java
Rank: 1e Luitenant Vlieger [1st Lieutenant Aviator]
Unit(s): No. 120 NEI [Netherlands East-Indiës] Squadron, RAAF
Group(s): ML.KNIL – Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger [ML-KNIL – Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands-Indies Army]
Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch leger en Indisch [Royal Dutch-Indies Army and Indies resistance]
Service Number: 13620
Died: 7 September 1944
Age: 24 years
Buried: Cairns War Cemetery – Plot A – Row E – Grave 1 (Coll.)
In early 1942 when the Japanese began occupying the Netherlands East-Indiës (NEI) many Dutch civilians and military personnel were evacuated or escaped to Australia. Some of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN) vessels of the fleet also escaped to Australia.
Bernard van Aken was one of the NEI [Netherlands East-Indiës] airmen who were sent to USA for further training at the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School at Jackson, Mississippi. They sailed on the U.S.A.T. Mariposa from Melbourne in April 1942 arriving in San Francisco just over two weeks later. The passengers on the ship were Dutch Army and Air Force personnel as well as many of their families.
On the ships manifest it is recorded that Bernard Van Aken was 22 years of age, born in Salatiga, Java and last residing in Batavia, Java; occupation NEI Air Force; with physical features of 5 feet 7 inches, with fresh complexion, black hair and brown eyes.
Nine of the NEI airmen were killed 7 September 1944 in a Dakota air crash near Cairns.
The SS Mariposa was a luxury liner that sailed in the Pacific Ocean which included regular stops in ports of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii and the West Coast of the United Sates. During World War ll it was adapted to operate as a United States Army Transport (U.S.A.T.) serving as a fast troop carrier. It also carried supplies and being one of the very large, fast transports usually sailed without an escort. At the end of the war the war brides and families sailed from Australia on the U.S.A.T. Mariposa to their new homes in America.
Bernard van Aken was a fighter pilot with the No. 120 Squadron NEI Air Force flying the P40 Curtiss Warhawks, also known as the ‘Kittyhawk’.
During the war the 1 N.E.I.T.S. [Netherlands East-Indiës Transport Service], provided a regular twice a week route to Merauke from Melbourne via Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns.
It was a four-day round-trip with overnight stays in Brisbane and Merauke.
Royal Netherlands East Indiës Air Force C-47 Dakota DT9-41 was on the return leg when it left Merauke air base, Dutch New Guinea Thursday 7 September 1944 bound for Cairns, a flight that usually took about four hours.
On board were 18 Dutch nationals and 2 Australians.
The four crew members of the N.E.I.T.S were Luitenant Hermanus J. H. Daanen, Captain; Sergeant-majoor Willem A. Torn, Co-pilot; Sergeant Jacques F. Damwijk, Engineer; Sergeant Eugene Kerdijk, Wireless Operator.
Members of 120 Squadron NEI-AF who were on their way for some rest and relaxation in Australia: Luitenants Bernard van Aken, Rudolf Braakensiek, Hendrik P. Levy, Otto Leyding, Robert J. Salm and Jan S. Zwart and Sergeant Abraham C. Scholte. Sergeants Martinus J. Straub and Marinus Boogerman of the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service.
Two other pilots who expected to be on the Dakota were reassigned to fly their Kittyhawks to Canberra for maintenance but, their luggage remained on board the Dakota.
Luitenants Robert E. J. Boereboom and Samuel Jacob were Royal Netherlands-East Indies Army officers who were part of the NEFIS [Netherlands East-Indiës Forces Intelligence Service].
Luitenant Commander Joseph R.L. Lebeau of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Two women civilians, Mevrouw [Mrs.] Waas and Mevrouw [Mrs.] Wakemau who were reported to be with the Red Cross.
The Australian military officers: Squadron Leader Leslie Dawson R.A.A.F. [Royal Australian Air Force] and Lieutenant Hector W. H. Armstrong A.A.S.C. [Australian Army Service Corps].
The crew of the Dakota radioed they would be landing in 10 minutes at Cairns but nothing more was heard from them. They were experiencing bad weather when approaching Cairns in the late afternoon. It was thought the plane crashed into the sea.
An extensive search for the missing plane was undertaken by the Air Force over the sea and land, and were supported by the army, police, and scores of civilians in remote areas. No trace of the plane could be found, and the search was called off after three weeks by the Dutch authorities.
Wreckage of the plane was discovered 45 years later in January 1989 by seven members of the Australian New Zealand Scientific Exploration Society (ANZSES) when they were collecting plant specimens on the mountain peaks north-west of Mossman, North Queensland.
They contacted Air Force officials in Canberra about their find. The registration markings still visible on the tail confirmed it was the missing plane.
News of the discovery was sent to The Hague in the Netherlands and so began the difficult task of tracking down and notifying the next of kin.
Permission was given on Tuesday 24 January 1989 for a recovery mission to retrieve the remains of the passengers and the many personal items from amongst the crash debris. Access to the site was only accessible by helicopter. The operation was conducted by No. 27 Squadron with the helicopter support from No. 35 Squadron, Townsville. The mission concluded on Saturday 11 February 1989.
On Saturday 29 July 1989 the remains of the 20 crash victims were laid to rest together in a large single grave in the Cairns War Cemetery with full Military Honors.
The armed honor guard at the monument consisted of special units of the Australian land, air and naval forces.
Relatives, especially from America, Netherlands and Australia that had traveled to Cairns, were highly impressed with the ceremony.
In 1993 all were registered in the Queensland Birth Death and Marriage register with the death recorded as 7 September 1944.
Online Resources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Honor List Of Fallen 1940 – 1945
Photo – A P-40 of 120 Squadron
Australian War Memorial – SS Mariposa
AFC and Royal Australian Air Force Association Queensland Division Cairns Branch
Military Aircraft Crashes in Australia during WW2-Oz At War
National Library of Australia: Trove Digitised Newspapers
Queensland Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages
If you have a photograph or further information about this soldier you would like to share and add to his biography, please contact the Society at projects@cdfhs.org or leave a comment below. Thank you!