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WELCOME TO THE SITE OF
THE MEN OF THE BELGIAN UNDERGROUND
WHO DARED TO RISK THEIR LIVES IN DEFENCE
OF THEIR COUNTRY AGAINST GERMAN OCCUPATION.
IN DOING THIS THEY RISKED THEIR LIVES
BUT HELPED MANY ALLIED AIRMEN TO ESCAPE
AND RETURN HOME
LEFT: THE PAPERS AND PHOTOS OF ALBERT DEMUYER'S FATHER, GUSTAAF DEMUYER. GUSTAAF AND HIS BROTHER JULES (BELOW) WERE COMMANDERS IN THE WHITE BRIGADE OF THE BELGIAN UNDERGOUND AND SAW A GREAT DEAL OF ACTION TOGETHER.
In WW2, when Belgium was occupied by Nazi Germany, the brothers Gustaaf and Jules Demuyer were initially sent to Germany where they were forced to work in a factory that was under construction at Frankfurt. After several days of forced labour in Frankfurt, the Flemish people were allowed to return home for two weeks. But as they left the factory by train, the factory disappeared in an explosion. Later, whenever Gustaaf told his family this story, he always had a smile on his face.
Once back in Belgium, Gustaaf and Jules refused to return to Germany but were arrested by the Belgian SS and sent to Kiel Dockyard where they were forced to help build submarines.
After several weeks of working at Kiel in very poor conditions, Gustaaf and Jules escaped from the Germans and made their way back to Belgium on foot, with the help of the Dutch Underground. They finally made it back to their home in Antwerp.
Soon after their return, they were in the street where they lived and they saw the SS carrying out checks on people. They ran like hell. Then, to save them, a neighbour signalled them into his house and they ran in and up to his attic. From there, they managed to climb through a garret window into another house, where they stayed until after dark.
From that moment on, the brothers decided to work with the Belgian Underground, and they did, becoming commanders of the White Brigade along the way. The first task they were given was to escort two downed RAF pilots to the border with France and hand them over to the French Underground. But after doing this successfully they were betrayed by a French woman, and they were arrested.
Back in Antwerp again, they saw another opportunity to escape, but this time Jules was caught and imprisoned. Gustaaf was successful in his bid for freedom and went into hiding where he worked as an Underground fighter.
Gustaaf did many heroic things while he was with the Underground movement but his most memorable action was to sabotage some railway trucks while German soldiers were patrolling the other side of the same trucks.
The brothers continued to fight as best they could throughout the war and once even managed to escape in The Netherlands from a train that was taking them to a German concentration camp.
As the war drew to its inevitable end, Gustaaf Demuyer fought side-by-side with the Canadians in the liberation of the city of Antwerp.
Another man, COMMANDER 'HARRY' EUGENE COLSON of the Belgian Secret Army conducted a sustained campaign of espionage at the harbour of Antwerp which greatly assisted the British and Canadian forces who finally liberated the city and the harbour of Antwerp.
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THIS SITE WAS BUILT IN HONOR OF THESE COURAGEOUS MEN AND WOMEN FOR WHOM THE ONLY OUTCOME OF BEING CAUGHT WAS CONFINEMENT IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP AT BEST, OR IMMEDIATE EXECUTION GUEST BOOK
Please sign in the guest book to let me know that you visited and enter any comments you may have. You may leave a message in English, German or Flemish as I can read all three languages. Thank you. 
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THIS INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED BY ALBERT DE MUYER
  Carl F. Hannon, Sr., a resident of Benton for the past five years passed away on March 3, 2006 in Waterville, Maine. He was born in Boston on August 3, 1937. After his schooling Carl served with the US Army during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in June of 1955. Carl, or Grunt, as we all knew him, was a very special person. Apart from many other things, a few years ago he kick-started a large group of people world wide who e-mail back and forth in discussions on just about anything imaginable. Earlier, with Frank Mays of the 385th USAF Bomb Group, he co-founded the War Horse web site dedicated to the USAF veterans of WW2. Later, he helped and encouraged Albert Demuyer to set up this site to honor members of the Belgian Underground Movement. He did so much for military men and their families. He brought relatives together, found the final resting places for loved ones who died in combat, dug up state and federal records to verify pension rights for people in desperate need, located financial aid and other benefits for veterans down on their luck, got help for drug and alcohol abusers, and so much, much more. Carl was one in a million. He will be sadly missed. To Ann Hannon and all of Carl’s family, we offer our most sincere condolences and sympathy. |
