Dutch family tends grave of Bend soldier Emmet C. De Laney died in the last days of WWII

* I frequently hear from the European ( Belgium and France) families that take care of these graves as the try to learn more about their soldier -- it's just wonderful and not commonly known.

 Jonas Daemen woke Sunday in the Dutch village of Heerlen, loaded some flowers into the family car and made the half-hour drive to a green swath on the edge of the village of Margraten.

At the Netherlands American Cemetery, he walked into the 65 acres of green lawns where 8,301 nearly identical headstones march into the distance. The regiments of graves can be confusing to navigate, but Jonas knew his way. He is the fourth generation of his family to come to Margraten this time of year, and the destination is always the same: Plot K, Row 3, Grave 6.

The white marble cross is chiseled with the name of a man his family has known for 72 years:

EMMETT C. DE LANEY

T. Sgt 736 Tk Bn

Oregon April 19 1945

Jonas is the newest guardian of this one small plot of hallowed ground holding the remains of a Bend box factory worker who went off to war and never came back.

Since 1945, De Laney’s grave has been watched over by four generations of Jonas’ family.

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