The battle of the Java Sea was commemorated in a church in The Hague on Monday.
On 27 February 1942 more than 1,000 Dutch and 1,200 allied sailors lost their lives in a failed attempt to destroy a Japanese invasion fleet headed for the then Dutch East Indies, present-day Indonesia.
The fleet, which included Dutch, Australian, British and US ships, was under the command of Dutch Rear Admiral Karel Doorman.
Crown Prince Willem-Alexander attended the commemoration on behalf of his mother Queen Beatrix. She is in the Austrian ski resort of Lech, in connection with her son Prince Johan Friso who is in a coma following a skiing accident.
(gsh/imm)
© Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Email this Bulletin
Printer-friendly version
