André Louis Armand Hissink (26 June 1919 – 1 January 2024) was a Dutch soldier who served with the 320 Dutch Squadron of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

André Louis Armand Hissink was born on 26 June 1919 in

Batavia, Dutch East Indies Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The area corresponds to present-day Jakarta, Indonesia. Batavia can refer to the city proper or its suburbs and hinterland, the , which included the much larger area of the Residency of Batavia ...

, moving with his family to the Netherlands at the age of eight. After high school, he studied law at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, but dropped out after being drafted into the army because of the mobilization. He escaped the bombing of Rotterdam and left for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In 1943, he completed his training as a pilot in his hometown of Batavia, as well as in the United States, after which he joined the RAF as a bomber pilot. He became part of the 320 Dutch Squadron, which carried out war missions over the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. Hissink was shot out of the sky in December 1944 after an attack on the Germans during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, but he managed to survive. In total, he flew 69 sorties with this squadron. Hissink was awarded the Flying Cross on 21 December 1944. After the war, Hissink returned to the Netherlands, where he applied for jobs as a pilot, but was told that there was no place for him in Dutch aviation. He had more success abroad, working in Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada. In May 2022, the 102-year-old Hissink regained his Dutch nationality, which he relinquished in 1953 in order to be able to work abroad. He had lived in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, since 1993. Hissink died on 1 January 2024 at the age of 104.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hissink, Andre 1919 births 2024 deaths Dutch expatriates in Canada People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies Dutch World War II pilots Dutch men centenarians