A Priceless Treasure Revealed
By Glenn Kooima.
I was in junior high school when I first “met” Lawrence Kooima. I say met, in quotes, for he had died 20 years before I was born. But I “met” him at his brother’s house, my Grandpa Sam. Grandma Sue brought out Lawrence’s picture and passed it around a room of uncles and aunts. By this time the picture was well over 30 years old, but was kept in mint condition by the way it was carefully handled. As it moved around the living room, with each person making comments about Lawrence, it was plain to see that the picture was a family treasure. This first “introduction” sparked my interest, but little did I know that it would inspire in me a life long treasure hunt.
For those of you who have never “met” Lawrence, allow me to introduce you. Lawrence was the son of Tim and Gertrude Kooima. He had four brothers and four sisters and lived on a farm southwest of Rock Valley, graduating from RVHS in 1935. One sister, Adriane, died from appendicitis at the age of 21. Lawrence became a school teacher and taught in one room country schools northwest of Rock Valley, and south of Doon. Against the wishes of his parents, he enlisted in the Army and became a B-17 bomber pilot. Lawrence went to war. He piloted his plane and commanded a crew through 22 dangerous missions over occupied Europe, battling the fighter planes and braving the anti-aircraft guns of Germany. He did not return from mission 23. Lawrence died on October 8, 1943, when his plane was shot down over Bremen, Germany.
From time to time over the years, Grandma Sue would get that picture out and pass it around. I was intrigued. In my late teens, I decided to get my own pilot’s license, and having this in common with my great uncle Lawrence, I began asking questions. The treasure hunt was on. I learned little about Lawrence those first years. The treasures were few, mostly held as stories passed on by my father, Tim. I would note how his eyes lit up when I asked about Lawrence, and this would inspire me to dig.
In my late twenties, some 50 years after Lawrence’s death, I started digging in interest. I dug, because I had been asked by the staff at the Hull Protestant Reformed Christian School to do a presentation about WWII, incorporating Lawrence’s story. I have been doing presentations for them ever since. I have been digging ever since. My presentations those first years were sketchy, slim on facts, and slim on physical treasures. But my research and presentations continued, and the treasures began coming uncovered at a brisk pace. Every two years a presentation was expected of me, and every two years I dug. I found medals which had been awarded to Lawrence, including a purple heart, and a distinguished flying cross given for his participation in a famous mission to Schweinfurt. One year I was told that his brother Ed had a small diary that Lawrence kept. I paid a visit to Ed and Elsie, and they loaned me that little black book. There before me were Lawrences’s own words in the fine penmanship of a school teacher at war. Lawrence wrote of most of the 22 missions he had flown. By this time I knew the history well, but still was startled at the abrupt end to the diary, with no information about mission 23.
One year with the help of Ken Kooima, I uncovered a treasure chest of pictures, newspaper clippings, formal family photos, graduation programs, funeral programs, and more. And then there were the letters; letters exquisitely penned by Lawrence and addressed to Rev. P. Vis and the Young People’s Society of the Rock Valley Protestant Reformed Church. These letters were long held by the Vis family, but given to me a few years ago. What a treasure as they testified to the spiritual character of this young man. It was the same spiritual character I heard about from the last surviving crew member of Lawrence’s plane. Cecil Brooks was living in Texas when I “found” him. Upon Lawrence’s command he was one of the four men to safely bail out before Lawrence’s plane exploded. His wife read him the letter I wrote to him in 2001. She replied to me that though Cecil’s short term memory was poor, he had not trouble talking about Lawrence, even correcting her when she incorrectly pronounced “Kooima.” Cecil told me, by way of his wife, that “Lawrence Kooima was one great fellow—didn’t smoke, drink, or use profanity.” What a treasure, knowing that 58 years after his death, Lawrence was being spoken of in such a manner.
The treasures I found were not all physical. Some were quite personal and included the stories told by family members and friends. On a visit with great uncle Art, Lawrence’s brother, I learned the name of Lawrence’s plane, the Mexicali Rose. And then there is Rose. What a treasure she is. Rose (Bloemendaal) Dykstra was Lawrence’s girlfriend when he went off to war. Rose lives in Orange City, and shared her personal treasures of Lawrence with me. She helps me dig.
New found treasures are coming slower the last few years. I have often thought, “I have found all there is to find on Lawrence. Perhaps I should quit digging.” I said as much in one of my presentations, telling the class, “I think I have found all I am going to find on Lawrence.” I was wrong. Just two weeks after making that comment, I sat down to check my email. There in the subject column was the name “Lawrence Kooima.”
I opened the email sent to me by a complete stranger and read, “I was browsing ebay.ie (Ireland) and saw where somebody is selling Lawrence Kooima’s graduation ring. I don’t know if his family has been contacted about the ring, but I dug around and saw your post on the 306th BG website. My dad was in the 381st at Ridgewell, so I browse UK auction sites, looking for photos and stuff to add to my genealogy work. Anyhow, here’s the link…..” from Gretchen in Ohio.
In my excitement, I clicked on the link, and there before me was an eBay posting with a WWII’s pilot ring, and the selling claiming it had the name “Lawrence W. Kooima” engraved on the inside. The posting was listed as a “3 day only” auction. I told my wife to get ready to spend some money because I had just found another Lawrence treasure. And she, never known to object to buying jewelry, said, “Don’t bid; hit the Buy It Now button.” A click of the mouse, the transfer of some money, and I had added to my treasure chest. It was easy digging.
The ring was in Maryland, and arrived in the mail a few days later. As I rolled it in my fingers I read the name “Lawrence W. Kooima” engraved within. It was a ring given upon graduation from Flight School, with among other things, the name “Ellington Field” (Texas) on the surface.
With the ring, came the question. Is this THE ring? Is this the ring that Lawrence referred to in a note left in his locker while on missions? The note which instructed the officers of his base in England to send his ring to his girlfriend Rose, should he not return from a mission? For the answer to that question, we had to load up our shovels and go “dig” with Rose again. The “shovel” we took along was an old picture given to me by Ken Kooima which showed a number of family members receiving a medal as part of a radio awards program in Sioux Falls. Rose, then a very young woman, was on that picture, and she was wearing what appeared to be the same ring we now had. We paid Rose another visit, and presented her with the ring. She immediately slipped it on and said, “Where did you get this?” We told her the story, and after close examination with a magnifying glass, it was determined that this is THE ring. This is the ring which was sent to Rose accompanied by a letter from an officer on the air base in England, when Lawrence went missing in action.
Rose told us that after having the ring a few years, she gave it to someone in the Kooima family. Now the next natural question asked is, “How did this ring end up in Maryland?” However, we ask that you, with us, refrain from asking that question. It profits us nothing to investigate and speculate on how this treasure was lost. Family heirlooms go lost. It happens. Rather, let us marvel at how it was found. How, after almost 70 years did this treasure come uncovered and make its way back to Rock Valley and Kooima family? God, in His providence, raised up nations that went to war. God, in His providence, guided the affairs of that war. He chose certain men and women to go to war. He guided every bullet, every bomb, and every drop of blood. By His providence He called some “home” when their tour of duty was over. Such was the case of Lawrence. And God in His providence, used the technology of the internet, eBay, and a stranger that took the time to dig, to lay before me a 3-day auction ring.
The ring is a prized treasure for the Kooima family. The comfort of knowing that nothing happens by chance but that all things, even wars and rings, are governed by God’s providential hand is a priceless treasure for the family of Christ. What a marvelous treasure once again revealed.
Source: The Rock Valley Bee, Wednesday, May 30, 2012
