1991-10-07-sc-p11-joe-mann-flag-pole

October 07, 1991 Spokane Daily Chronicle Page 11:

Dutch visitors pay tribute to war hero

By Jess Walter

Staff writer

[Photo]

Staff photo by Colin Mulvany

At left, Dutch tourist Matthew Van Luyt and Jack Mann place a wreath Sunday at the base of a Reardan flag pole named in honor of World War II hero Joe Mann.

At the top of this month’s itinerary for a group of Dutch tourists — ahead of Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon and San Francisco — was a trip to Reardan.

Thirty-two Dutch travelers came to the small town 20 miles west of Spokane on Sunday to see the birthplace of Joe Mann, a Medal of Honor winner who died during World War II in Best, the Netherlands.

They went to Reardan’s library to place a wreath at the base of a replica of a statue of Mann built near Best, then visited his brother, who still lives in Reardan.

“When we honor Joe Mann, we honor all the men who gave their lives for our liberation,” said Matthew Van Luyt, a 59-year-old member of a group of recreational tourists that jokingly calls itself DAC — Dutch Are Coming.

The Dutch tourists come to the United States every five years or so. Van Luyt said the fact they would come to Reardan on one of these tours shows how strongly World War II is tied to the psyche of the Dutch people.

“T think you only can know what it means to be free if you've been under oppression,” said Van Luyt, who was 13 when Allied troops liberated Holland in 1944,

“Being occupied is still very real to us,” he said. “And we've done much to keep the memory of those who liberated us, especially Joe Mann.”

Mann was a 20-year-old Army paratrooper whose platoon dropped into Nazi-held farmland with orders to seize a bridge near the town of Best.

After the Germans destroyed the bridge, Mann — acting as lead scout — crept within range of an enemy artillery position and destroyed an 88mm gun and ammunition dump.

Though he was shot four times in the arms and shoulders, Mann continued to fight, killing six Germans with his M-1 rifle.

After being treated for his wounds, Mann — with his arms bandaged to his sides — demanded to return to his unit to serve in a foxhole as a sentry.

The following morning, Mann was killed when he jumped on a German grenade lobbed into his crowded foxhole.

The Mann Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center in Spokane is named for him, as are streets in Fort Lewis, Wash., and Fort Campbell, Ky. In Best, a street and park are named after Mann and a 20-foot statue serves as a tribute to him.

“He wasn’t the type to be a hero,” said his brother, Jack Mann, 70. “He was just doing his job.”

Jack Mann has traveled to the Netherlands twice, where he said the story of Joe Mann’s bravery is still well-known.

He said it was wonderful to have the Dutch tourists, along with about 75 people from Reardan, pay their respects again to his brother.

“It’s still hard to believe,” Mann said. “He did something to affect so many people.”