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Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (Dutch pronunciation: [miˈχil ˈaˑdrijaˑnˌsoˑn də ˈrœy̆tər]; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably being the Raid on the Medway. The pious De Ruyter was very much loved by his sailors and soldiers; from them his most significant nickname derived: Bestevaêr (older Dutch for 'grandfather'.)
Legacy
De Ruyter was highly respected by his sailors and soldiers, who used the term of endearment Bestevaêr ("Granddad") for him, both because of his disregard for hierarchy (he was himself of humble origin) and his refusal to back away from risky and bold undertakings despite his usually cautious nature.
He is honoured by a statue in his birthplace Vlissingen, where he stands looking over the sea. Almost every town in the Netherlands has a street named after him.
Respect also extended far beyond the borders of the Republic. On his last journey home, the late Lieutenant-Admiral-General was saluted by cannon shots fired on the coasts of France by the direct orders of the French king Louis XIV. The town of Debrecen erected a statue of him for his role in freeing 26 Protestant Hungarian ministers from slavery.
Six ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have been named HNLMS De Ruyter and seven are named after his flagship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën
De Ruyter has descendants still living in the United States, Britain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
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If he was the real deal, he was and idiot; an idiot who deserves sympathy for the cause he supported, but an idiot nevertheless. Any intelligent, stable person would know that targeting drones isn't going to slay the beast.
But that's doubtful. In reality, he was likely just a confused nut who had a lot of propaganda planted in his "personal affects" as an excuse to make right-wingers out to be terrorist threats and allow the leftists to set up their gulags.
Anyway, as for European heroes:
Martin Luther had good intention, and certainly desired the best, even if the results of his efforts were less than beneficial to Europe as a whole. It is his spirit of love for his people and for his God that makes him a European hero.
Hughes de Payens founded the greatest crusading order in European history and made it possible to elevate knighthood from a glorified mercenary title to the glorious and exclusive order of Christian heroes. A master of heroes is without a doubt a great hero in his own regard.
St. Thomas Becket was a saint and an Archbishop, but he was also a Norman gentleman and knight of superior talent in the saddle and indomitable will worthy of his greatest rival, the greatest Norman King of England, Henry II.
Some might wonder why I did not mention Meister Eckhart, St. Anselm of Canterbury, or St. Thomas Aquinas, the three greatest minds of our Golden Age; largely because they do not qualify as "heroes", or great men of indominable spirits. They were great intellectuals, great minds, and great men indeed, but as an academic and an intellectual, I know what we can achieve and what we cannot, and these were saintly men of a priestly species, meaning they had very little of the warrior within them that is displayed by men like Luther, St. Thomas, and de Payens.
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Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (c. 1398 – February 3, 1468) (English pronunciation: /jəʊˌhanəs ˈguːtənbɛː(r)k/ yoh-han-uhss goo-tuhn-bairk)[1] was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced modern book printing. His invention of mechanical movable type printing started the Printing Revolution and is widely regarded as the most important event of the modern period.[2] It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation and the Scientific Revolution and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.
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Karel Willem Frederik Marie Doorman (April 23, 1889 - February 28, 1942) was a Dutch Rear Admiral who commanded ABDACOM Naval forces, a hastily-organized multinational naval force formed to defend the East Indies against an overwhelming Imperial Japanese attack. Doorman was killed and the main body of ABDACOM Naval forces destroyed during the Battle of the Java Sea. In commemoration, the Royal Netherlands Navy named three ships after him: HNLMS Karel Doorman (1946), HNLMS Karel Doorman (1948) and HNLMS Karel Doorman (1991).
"I attack, follow me"
Karel Doorman is often honoured because he is said to have signalled "Ik val aan, volg mij" ("I attack, follow me") during the Battle of the Java Sea, which was considered very gallant. The real explanation is different.
On February 27, 1942 at approximately four in the afternoon the Japanese and the allied squadrons spotted each other.[3] The guns of the two Japanese cruisers had a longer range than the Allied guns and at about five o'clock the British cruiser HMS Exeter was hit. Twenty minutes later the Dutch destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer was torpedoed. The ship exploded and broke in two pieces. Confusion arose in the Allied squadron over the way forward, compounded by the fact that HMS Exeter could only sail at half power and wanted to return to port at Tanjung Priok on its own steam.
Remembering instructions issued by High Command, Doorman gave the order to attack at the approach of the Japanese fleet. The tactical command "I attack, follow me" as such he did not signal at the beginning of this battle in the Java Sea. It is a very free translation of the signal sent by him, "All ships - follow me", to remedy the confusion. The battle on February 27, 1942 which, with interruptions, lasted for over seven hours, ended with the almost complete destruction of Doorman's squadron. The squadron commander was killed aboard the flagship, which sank after about 1 ½ hours.
The Hague Kloosterkerk has a memorial plaque and commemorations for the Battle of the Java Sea are regularly held.
Honours and awards
- Military Order of William, Officer, posthumously entered into the register on June 5, 1942[4]
- Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion, August 21, 1941.
- Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (previously appointed an Knight)
- War Memorial Cross with two bars
- Distinguishing for Long Service as an officer, with figures XXX
- Mobilization Cross 1914-1918.
- Virtuti Militari, Silver Cross (Poland)
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All I can say is if you ever criticize any Americans about September 11, I'm keeping this thread archived to throw at you. Having said that, you are definitely overreacting here.
You really need to calm down. I suggest you do what I do when I get emotional and step away from your computer for a while, get yourself a glass of Scotch or whatever it is you prefer drinking, and read a good book or watch a television show or partake of some other activity you enjoy. Getting your blood up over someone who is deliberately trying to troll you isn't going to do anyone any good, and if your parents were alive in the Second World War enough to understand what was going on during the occupation of Norway, I should say getting your blood up is an especially bad idea for someone your age.
I'll put aside the fact that if you are as old as you say you are, behaving this way is incredibly unbecoming, especially for a man.
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