Robert Evert Johan BOEREBOOM
Date of Birth: 3 April 1915
Place of Birth: Semarang, Central Java, Dutch East Indies
Rank: Res. 2e Luitenant [Reserve 2nd Lieutenant]
Unit(s): NEFIS Nederland Indië Krachten Intelligentie Dienst [Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service]
Groups: KM. Koninklijke Landmacht [Royal Netherlands Army] Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch leger en Indisch [Royal Dutch-Indies Army and Indies resistance]
Service Number: 13620
Died: 7 September 1944
Age: 29 years
Buried: Cairns War Cemetery – Plot A – Row E – Grave 1 [Coll.]
Robert Evert Johan Boereboom was born on the island of Java. His parents were Theodorus, born 15 February 1886 in Amsterdam and Maria, who died 3 Sept 1947 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland aged 55 years.
In 1935 while living in Hilversum, Holland, Robert was registered on Militia records “Enrolment for the Conscription”
Robert spent some time in London, England where he boarded the SS Phrontis at Liverpool on 26 March 1938 to travel to Batavia, Dutch East Indies where he intended to live. He was 22, single and his occupation was listed as Correspondent.
In July 1940 he sailed to Los Angeles, USA on board the SS Bloemfontein departing from Batavia. The ships manifest listed his age as 25, single, speaks Dutch, English, French and German; 5 feet 10 inches with fair complexion, brown hair and blue eyes. No occupation is listed just employed by Lindetevis.
Two years later in 1942 Robert married Violet Spyros Microutsicos in Manhattan, New York. Their daughter Violet was born on 2 February 1943 in New York.
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.
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 retrive 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
Honor List Of Fallen 1940 – 1945
AFC and Royal Australian Air Force Association Queensland Division Cairns Branch
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Military Aircraft Crashes in Australia during WW2-Oz At War
Trove Digitised Newspapers, National Library of Australia
Queensland Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages
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