A story of remembrance and gratefulness towards Joe Mann.

Today 76 years ago, on September 19th 1944, a young US soldier called Joe Mann gave his life to save that of his comrades. He jumped on a grenade thrown by a German soldier and died a hero. This was the day after Eindhoven was liberated from the Nazis.

No one knew at the time, but the war in the Netherlands would not end until 8 months later, causing countless civilian deaths during the “hunger winter” of 44/45.

A monument was erected for Joe Mann a few years back, and my wife and I walk the surrounding area a lot, so yesterday we stopped at the monument to contemplate the bravery and fate of this young man. This is a picture of the place:

The inscription reads: “On 19 September 1944, Joe E. Mann as soldier at this place gave his young life to save the lives of his comrades.“