Family ties

Pride was the word of the day on Monday, May 2.

It was on that day after more than four years Carson City’s CeCe Davy met her new family members.

On May 2 Davy along with others in family met the Derkxes at the history museum in Healdsburg, Calif.

Davy and her family are the kin of Arthur Beeman, a former Healdsburg police officer who quit the force to go to war in 1943. Beeman, Davy’s father died on Oct. 13, 1944. He’s buried in an American military cemetery in Belgium about a 30 minutes drive from Netherlands home of Stan and Kim Derkx.

In 2011, the Derkxes — Stan, Kim, along with their children Lena and Ticho — adopted the grave of Beeman. Beeman’s grave is one of 7,992 graves in the cemetery. The graves are of American soldiers who died fighting in World War II.

Back home after meeting the Derkxes, Davy reflected about the experience and opened up about he appreciation to the Dutch family.

“It was very emotional,” she said last week. “But, they were all tears of joy.”

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Davy was eight when her father was killed. She said he was a family man, devoted to his country. Davy said he father had to divorce her mother and quit his job to be accepted into the service.

“He wanted to go, so he quit his job as a police officer,” Davy said.

She said her father, who was in his 30s, when he went to war, was known as “old man or pops,” by his unit — the 116th Infantry Regiment.

He was injured in July 1944, when his unit was attacked by German tanks. A shrapnel wound to the leg would only keep him down a few months. He was awarded The Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Clusters. The medal, along with Beeman’s other personal items are on display at the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society after Davy donated them.

“I wanted my kids and the public to be able to go to the museum,” and remember him, Davy said.

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Shortly after Stan officially adopted the grave in February 2011, he started researching Beeman. It was the through the Healdsburg museum that contact originated; Stan reached director Holly Hoods. Hoods would connect Stan and Davy.

Davy says she corresponds by hand-writing letters. It was in the letters plans started coming together for the Derkxes to visit the U.S. and meet Davy and Beeman’s other family members.

At the museum, the Dutch family first met Davy, Anna Cadd, a widow of Beeman’s nephew, three of Beeman’s nieces, a nephew, three grandchildren and two grand-nieces along with the Hoods and two reporters.

Stan told Chris Smith of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat he visits the grave — plot G, row 11, grave 57 — about five times a year: on Beeman’s birthday (July 12), date of death (Oct. 13), Christmas Day, Netherlands’ Remembrance Day (May 4) or Liberation Day (May 5).

From the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat story: “There, Derkx places fresh flowers on Pvt. Beeman’s tomb and reflects on his gratitude to the soldier and the other American and Allied troops who sacrificed profoundly to displace the German forces that occupied and terrorized the Netherlands from May of 1940 until the country was freed, bit by bit, more than four years later.

“The Americans liberated my village on Sept. 14, 1944,” said Derkx, 49, a hale and clearly passionate industrial parts manager and veteran of the Royal Netherlands Army.

Davy said Stan has told her countless times “it is an honor to adopt the grave.” Davy said, “it is such an honor to adopt a U.S. soldier, that there is a waiting list.”

At the Nevada Appeal office last week, she said no matter how hard her father’s passing was on her, it was nothing to what Stan and his family went through.

“There’s a connection,” Davy said. “I admire and respect, so much, what their families went through; they went through so much more (than we did in the states). You have to respect them; it is amazing.”

She continued Stan shared a story of how Nazi soldiers showed up on the doorstep and beat Stan’s father.

“To see that,” she said before stopping.

“Then to try to nurse him back to life,” the 79-year-old said, shaking her head. “Very brave. He comes from a very brave family.”

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After spending sometime together the Derkxes vacationed around the West, while Davy came back to Carson City.

She said she was thankful for the experience and said she thanked Stan and his family.

But she said it was more than a gesture between families. Davy said there’s no question about the relationship between her family and Stan.

“He’s family.”