Symbol of Friendship

Symbol of Friendship (HM2P7)

Location: Arlington, VA 22209 Arlington County
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 38° 53.317', W 77° 4.286'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 502 views
Inscription
Dedicated on May 5, 1960, the 15th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Carillon was presented "From The People Of The Netherlands To The People Of The United States" in gratitude for assistance given during and after WWII.

Background

WWII tied the United States and the Netherlands together as allies for the first time in history. During WWI, the Netherlands remained neutral. However, peaceful co-existance was shattered when Germany invaded The Netherlands on May 10, 1940. Later, when the United States was drawn into WWII with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, The Netherlands declared war on Japan.

The United States joined the Allied Campaign to free Nazi-occupied countries in western Europe. Although The Netherlands was occupied, the underground efforts of the Dutch resistance made this task less difficult. The Dutch transmitted intelligence to the Allies and provided escape routes for Allied plane crews to Great Britain and Switzerland. In addition, although 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in German concentration camps, thousands were saved through these same escape routes.

The first American units crossed The Netherland with the Allied forces in September, 1944, freeing the southern part of The Netherlands. However, the heavily populated western territories remained occupied. These areas suffered tremendously; more than 15,000 died of starvation during the winter of 1944/45. Help finally came in the form of food dropped by American and British bombers, made possible through secret negotiations with the Germans. Thousands were saved.

Continued military pressure forced Germany to surrender The Netherlands on May 5, 1945. Although liberation ended this human tragedy, the price was high. Approximately 240,000 Dutch civilians died during WWII, and thousands of U. S. soldiers remained behind. Today, many rest in Margraten, the U. S. Military Cemetary in the south of The Netherlands.

Following WWII, the idea for presenting a symbolic gift to The United States met with generous response from all sections of The Netherlands. The original 49 carillon bells were inscribed with symbols representing the different facets of Dutch society.

The Carillon Today

Today, the Carillon has 50 bells. The 50th bell was presented to President Clinton by Netherlands Prime Minister Wim Kok on February 28, 1995. The bell symbolizes 50 years of friendship. Its inscription:

1945 - 1995
Freedom - Friendship
The Netherlands - The United States

Restoring The Carillon

The restoration of the Carillon and the addition of the 50th bell were made possible by a generous contribution from The Netherlands government and corporate sponsors. The restoration work included recasting and re-tuning all 49 original bells, replacing the bell-playing mechanism, repainting the tower structure, and replacing the deteriorated steel plates.

Benefactors

ABN AMRO BANK
AKZO NOBEL
AVRO BROADCASTING
BOUWONDS
DIHC
HEINEKEN
HOOGOVENS
ING
KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS
RADOBANK

Patrons:
DURA
ROYAL AHOLD
J. P. VAN EESTEREN
VNU
VAN VLIJMEN
WOLTERS KLUWER
Details
HM NumberHM2P7
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, October 4th, 2014 at 4:17am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 320341 N 4306455
Decimal Degrees38.88861667, -77.07143333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 53.317', W 77° 4.286'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 53' 19.02" N, 77° 4' 17.16" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)703, 202, 571
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1220 N Meade St, Arlington VA 22209, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. Who or what organization placed the marker?
  10. This marker needs at least one picture.
  11. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  12. Is the marker in the median?