Background
Born March 31, 1919 in Angeren, the Netherlands, Van Beek grew up on a farm.
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Gys Van Beek
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After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940 Van Beek was among many Dutch the Germans tried to recruit. He avoided the recruitment and eventually joined the Dutch resistance. Using forged identity papers he was able to help civilians and downed Allied pilots escape the Netherlands.
Among those he helped escape was a P-51 pilot from Wisconsin, Lieutenant Howard Edward Moebius.
Foreign his efforts he earned decorations from the governments of Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States of America. In 1999 he was recognized as an Aid Giver by the Shoah Foundation established by Steven Spielberg.
"Foreign his heroism and service to the United States of America during World World War II" he was entered into the Congressional Record of July 24, 2012, by Idaho Congressman Raúl Labrador. The farm went into foreclosure in 1984 and after years of legal proceedings with the Farmers Home Administration.
They were evicted in 1994.
In 1995 he invented a hatchet used by firefighters and rescue workers. He continued inventing tools including the "Trucker"s Friend" which he exclusively licensed to Innovation Factory. He died on November 14, 2015 in Boise, Idaho.
Membership
Dutch resistance.
