Company Commander Jacobus Andreas Beekman.

Jacobus Andreas Beekman was the company commander of the 1st company of the Strijdende Gedeelte (S.G.) of the Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten (fighting part of the Dutch domestic forces) in Dordrecht during World War II. After completing many dangerous missions with his troops during the war, it was tragic that he lost his life in an accident after the war ended.

A civilian had reported with the head of a German Panzerfaust (anti-tank weapon) to the Bewakingstroepen (Security Forces), which needed to be made safe. Beekman, as a reserve 1st Lieutenant of the Genietroepen (Engineer Troops), had undergone a course on explosives. He picked up the explosive from the Bewakingstroepen and then drove with the platoon commander Gerritse and the section commander Aan de Wiel to the barracks of the 1st company S.G. Together, they went to the Vlijweg to detonate the projectile. Unfortunately, tragedy struck and Beekman and Gerritse were killed instantly. Aan de Wiel was critically injured and taken to the Gemeente Ziekenhuis (Municipal Hospital), where he stated that he suspected Blitzkoord had been used instead of Vuurkoord, which would have had a much faster ignition. This may have been the cause of the accident. Section commander Aan de Wiel succumbed to his injuries the following morning on June 9, 1945. All of them are buried in the military section of the Essenhof cemetery in Dordrecht¹.

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