CORNELIS Plaatzer was just 20 years old when he enlisted as a volunteer in the Royal Netherlands Army (Koninklijk Landmacht/KL) shortly after World War II. This young man from Putten, the Netherlands, was then sent to newly independent Indonesia to restore Dutch control, which had been lost following the defeat of Japan. The Netherlands had to wage war against Indonesia to reclaim the territory it once called the Dutch East Indies.
Cornelis Plaatzer arrived in Indonesia as part of Battalion 2 of the 9th Regiment of the KL. He was then selected for the Red Beret special forces paratroopers. By late 1948, he was stationed near Bandung, living in a military barracks. His unit was the paratrooper company of the Regiment Speciale Troepen (RST), and he was part of the parachute unit. On August 20, 1948, Cornelis, the son of Jan Plaatzer and Jannetje Kool, was temporarily promoted to corporal.
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