Peter Mulder has discovered more information about his grandfather, Jan Mulder, through the Red Cross war archive. Jan is the Mulder who died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in WWII. Read about it in The Story of a Mulder in Indonesia.
Jan was my great-great grandfather Peter (Pieter) Mulder’s half-brother and you might remember the heart-breaking letter Peter wrote to Jan after the death of his wife Nellie. You can read it in The Treasure that Arrived in an Email.
According to Peter’s information, Jan was interned in March 1942 in the Ambarawa camp, Central Java number 7. His camp number was 13591. He was detained there until his death on 23 November 1945. You will note that this is a few months after the Japanese surrender, and Jan had wanted to return to Holland. However, his fragile health did not allow him to travel. Although Jan was only 66, heart disease and starvation edema ultimately proved fatal.
The day before Jan passed away, he was baptized as a Catholic as the fulfillment of his last wish. He died quietly in the hospital with Sister Josephine and Reverend John G. Breman at his side. Reverend Breman was also a patient at the hospital.
Jan was buried in the camp, which was considered a privilege at that time.
Jan Mulder with his beloved cello
The Family Kalamazoo 
Even though I have no relationship with your family, I have enjoyed your stories since I started following this blog a few years ago.
Thank you so much. What a nice thing to say!
I have often said we really do not have happy endings. If I did not know this before I studied my family’s history it has certainly reinforced this idea. When I learn about stories such as this I am in awe of the strength of character that can be found in the so called common man / women. You do a great service to your family and to genealogy in general in discovering and bringing these stories to light.
I so agree about the strength of character in ordinary people. I am so glad I can share stories like that of Jan because watching a movie of historical events is one way of seeing what it was like for people, but actually learning about real individuals is in some ways a more personal experience. Thank you so much for your comments, Charles.
Bless this dear man
Thank you so much, Miss Merry! I love your blog. Read your posts about the cousins camp (such a great idea) and about the Mother’s Day collage (beautiful post), but I couldn’t manage to comment over there. None of the options worked for me :(.
What a lovely photo. I can’t decide if I feel sad or happy for Jan. Mostly sad, but man, Charles is right, there aren’t a lot of happy endings.
He is right. People that die young–it’s always a tragedy. And if they die old, there is so often some horrible decline and suffering involved. In Jan’s case, it’s particularly tragic.
I agree with Charles and am glad you are sharing your family’s stories. In knowing our past, and acknowledging the lives and struggles of ancestors I think we learn a great deal about ourselves.
Thank you, Su. It is so true that we learn about ourselves and our times, as well. The more changes throughout history I find the more I see how similar people from years ago were to people today.
Yes, I think we’re all driven by the same basic needs and wants. And family is central to that.
How very sad. I love the cello picture. When we count the victims of war, we should always include people like Jan who may not have been killed in battle, but who nevertheless died as a result of the war.
Yes, the photo is lovely. You are right, Amy, that they should be counted, always. They are casualties just as soldiers are.