Frederik Wapstra was born on 17 September, 1905. He lived in Wolvega, Friesland. He was conscripted into the Dutch army shortly before the German invasion in May 1940.

Frederik was attached to the Machinegun section of the 1st Battalion of the 25th Regiment Infantry that was tasked with the defense of Schiphol airport near Amsterdam.

I / 25 Regiment Infanterie

The Germans invaded the Netherlands in the early morning of 10 May 1940. Beside crossing the border in the east, the Germans landed airborne troops and an air mobile division on airfields near Den Haag. Schiphol airport, as one of the main air bases in the Netherlands, was also attacked. In the early morning several waves of German bombers attacked the airfield. 14 soldiers and a numbers of civilians died during the attacks. Frederik was one of them.

Graves of the Dutch soldiers that died in the German attacks on Schiphol airport, 10 May 1940. They were buried in Hoofddorp. Soldiers van der Meulen and Wapstra were later reinterred in Wolvega. (picture Piet Klaassen, via Ab Jansen in Fliegerhorst Schiphol, vol.I, pg 70. Used with permission)

He was initially buried in Hoofddorp, together with his comrades. Later, he and soldaat van der Meulen were reinterred in their hometown of Wolvega.

Soldaat Wapstra is buried in Wolvega General Cemetery.

(picture by Wim Bastiaanse)

Wolvega, The Netherlands

See also:
Sold W. Folkers
Sold H. Jager
Sld J. Kuper
Sld R. Pronk
Sld H. Snier
Sld K. Waslander
Sld Sijbrand van der Meulen

Sld W. Kern
Sld L. van Klaveren
Sld N. Wagenaar
Sld. J. Weinberg

Huzaar A. Damen
Cpl A. van Drunen
 

Sources:
De Grebbeline Website
Ab Jansen, Fliegerhorst Schiphol, Vol.I, Bussum 1996

Directions to Wolvega General Cemetery

If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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