He was my cousin. He lived in Rotterdam.
I spoke with him shortly after the Dutch surrender to the Germans.
Rotterdam was still burning.
He told me he was going to England.
"Listen to the BBC, if you hear that the monkey is in, I've made it".
He escaped in a small boat and was picked up by a British destroyer.
His message came over.
He served in the RAF as a pilot.
One day he did not come back from a bombing mission over Germany.
His plane had exploded.