American Sergeant Posthumously Awarded
On 12 September 2007 American sergeant Alexander van Aalten, (a descendant of Dutch ancestors) posthumously received the Decoration of Merit in gold. On 20 April 2007 Van Aalten, while in Afghanistan, volunteered to assist in the recovery of the body of a fallen Dutch Corporal Strik who had been killed by an improvised explosive device. Van Aalten was however killed himself by a land mine while attempting to retrieve the body of Strik. The golden Decoration of Merit was presented by Netherlands minister of defence Eimert van Middelkoop to the widow Shana van Aalten. The family of sergeant Van Aalten chose to have their son buried at at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, USA. The presentation was at Arlington.
Van Aalten was a member of the 82nd Airborne 1-508 PIR, an American airborne infantry division. The 82nd Airborne played a large role in the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. During the Battle of Arnhem this division suffered heavy losses. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands authorized the attachment of the cross of Military William Order to the standard of the regiment for the liberation of Nijmegen.
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