Members of the Gilbert D. Karsten American Legion Post 33 Honor Guard march during Monday’s Memorial Day parade.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Air Force 1st Lt. Ray Vanden Beldt of Zeeland was stationed in Japan in February 1951, in the early days of the Korean War, when he received orders to fly a combat mission into Korea to aid South Korean troops who were being attacked by invading North Korean and Chinese forces.
Vanden Beldt climbed into the cockpit of an F-80C Shooting Star jet fighter, the forerunner of such future jet fighters as the F-14 Tomcat and the F-18 Hornet.
“He had to leave the safety of the heavens. He had to bring his plane down low and drop bombs and napalm, to stop the enemy troops who were overrunning Allied positions,” Zeeland City Attorney Jim Donkersloot said. “Ray had to use this low-flying flight pattern, knowing that the Chinese and the North Korean anti-aircraft guns would be aiming for his plane, and that he would be a sitting duck in the sky.”
The 22-year-old Vanden Beldt had married his wife, Joyce, in 1948, and was the father of an 18-month-old son, Jackie. They had lived at 136-1/2 E. Cherry Ave.
During the mission, enemy troops fired on Vanden Beldt’s plane.
“His plane burst into flames. His plane exploded, and he was killed instantly,” Donkersloot said.
Vanden Beldt was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, just outside Washington, D.C., in November 1951.
Donkersloot, a U.S. Army veteran, shared Vanden Beldt’s story and sacrifice during Monday’s Memorial Day service at Zeeland Cemetery, as the community gathered to remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country.
“Ray sacrificed his life in an attempt to protect not only military units, but also South Korean civilians. He sacrificed his life to stop the invasion of a country by a totalitarian regime, to fight for freedom,” Donkersloot said.
Donkersloot read the names of more than 700 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from the Zeeland community who are either buried at Zeeland Cemetery, buried at Arlington or in foreign lands where they were killed, or lost at sea.
Before the ceremony at the cemetery, hundreds of veterans marched in the Memorial Day parade as it wound its way through the city, from downtown to the cemetery. Several thousand people lined up along the parade route, many dressed in red, white and blue, some waving American flags. Almost to a person, when the veterans walked by - or in a few cases, rode in cars - spectators clapped to show gratitude for their service.
“Thank you, Ray. Thank you, men and women, who have answered the call of duty,” Donkersloot said. “Thank you to those who sacrificed your blood. Thank you to those whose lives were cut short, to those who left young spouses and young children, that we might have freedom, that we might pursue our dreams, that we might worship God as we desire.”
Zeeland Record
Air Force 1st Lt. Ray Vanden Beldt of Zeeland was stationed in Japan in February 1951, in the early days of the Korean War, when he received orders to fly a combat mission into Korea to aid South Korean troops who were being attacked by invading North Korean and Chinese forces.
Vanden Beldt climbed into the cockpit of an F-80C Shooting Star jet fighter, the forerunner of such future jet fighters as the F-14 Tomcat and the F-18 Hornet.
“He had to leave the safety of the heavens. He had to bring his plane down low and drop bombs and napalm, to stop the enemy troops who were overrunning Allied positions,” Zeeland City Attorney Jim Donkersloot said. “Ray had to use this low-flying flight pattern, knowing that the Chinese and the North Korean anti-aircraft guns would be aiming for his plane, and that he would be a sitting duck in the sky.”
The 22-year-old Vanden Beldt had married his wife, Joyce, in 1948, and was the father of an 18-month-old son, Jackie. They had lived at 136-1/2 E. Cherry Ave.
During the mission, enemy troops fired on Vanden Beldt’s plane.
“His plane burst into flames. His plane exploded, and he was killed instantly,” Donkersloot said.
Vanden Beldt was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, just outside Washington, D.C., in November 1951.
Donkersloot, a U.S. Army veteran, shared Vanden Beldt’s story and sacrifice during Monday’s Memorial Day service at Zeeland Cemetery, as the community gathered to remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country.
“Ray sacrificed his life in an attempt to protect not only military units, but also South Korean civilians. He sacrificed his life to stop the invasion of a country by a totalitarian regime, to fight for freedom,” Donkersloot said.
Donkersloot read the names of more than 700 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from the Zeeland community who are either buried at Zeeland Cemetery, buried at Arlington or in foreign lands where they were killed, or lost at sea.
Before the ceremony at the cemetery, hundreds of veterans marched in the Memorial Day parade as it wound its way through the city, from downtown to the cemetery. Several thousand people lined up along the parade route, many dressed in red, white and blue, some waving American flags. Almost to a person, when the veterans walked by - or in a few cases, rode in cars - spectators clapped to show gratitude for their service.
“Thank you, Ray. Thank you, men and women, who have answered the call of duty,” Donkersloot said. “Thank you to those who sacrificed your blood. Thank you to those whose lives were cut short, to those who left young spouses and young children, that we might have freedom, that we might pursue our dreams, that we might worship God as we desire.”
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