Boy Ecury, Becoming A Man In World War II

Amidst the tragedy of World War II, brave men and women found ways to stand up to the growing German power by forming underground resistance parties. These people came together from occupied countries to put their lives at stake for their freedom. One young man ready for action joined the Dutch Resistance, his name was Boy Ecury.

Boy was born Segundo Jorge Adelberto Ecury on April 23, 1922. He came from a large, well-off, Catholic family residing in Oranjestad, Aruba. Always strong-willed and rebellious, Boy's parents took him out of his hometown school and sent him and his brother to the St. Augustin Military Academy in Puerto Rico. However, the two teens were not welcome their because they were black. By 1937 Boy and his brother found themselves in Oudenbosch, Holland at the Brothers of St. Louis school.

Boy moved around Holland after graduating, and in May 1940, witnessed the beginning of it's German occupation with the bombing of Rotterdam. In Tilburg he met Luis de Lannoy, a fellow student from the Antilles, and the two became close friends. Luis was a member of the student resistance against the Nazi forces, and introduced Boy to the fight. He aided the underground group in sabotaging the Nazis, including setting German trucks on fire.

Tilburg became to dangerous for the dark-skinned Boy, and he left in 1942 to join the Oisterwijk Resistance council. Luis stayed in Tilburg, and the two men communicated through letters when able. With the rest of the resistance group, Boy continued to sabotage the Axis army by destroying railroad tracks and using phosphorous bombs to destroy equipment. Stranded allie pilots and soldiers would search out these fighters for aid and protection. Many of those in the resistance, like Boy, felt as if they had nothing to lose in their resistance, since anything beat living under Nazi rule.

In February of 1944, Boy's old friend Luis was betrayed and imprisoned in Utrecht. Word got to Boy of his comrade's situation, and he attempted a break in to free Luis. Unfortunately he did not succeed in this endeavor, and Luis was left in prison. He later escaped on Mad Tuesday on September 5th of the same year amid the chaos.

After his failed rescue attempt, Boy continued to live in hiding with the other members of the resistance. They traveled around Oisterwijk seeking refuge in barns and attics, and Boy's dark skin made this lifestyle even more dangerous. In October of 1944, allied troops approached Tilburg, and Boy was transferred into hiding there. Later that month Oisterwijk was liberated, but Boy ignored his chance attain freedom and stayed in Tilburg to continue the fight.

Boy then left to The Hague and met up with the underground resistance group Knokploegen. They took in Boy and together the group continued the fight, including a daring assassination attempt on a leader of the Dutch National Social Movement, or the NSB. The war was approaching it's end, and the battle for liberation from the Nazi's grew stronger.

The action was soon to end for Boy as well. On November 5, 1944, he, like his friend Luis, was betrayed and arrested. He was sent to the Scheveningan prison, and was questioned about the identities of the other members of the resistance. Boy bravely refused to give away any information, and was executed by firing squad on the Waaldorpervlatke field next to the prison.

After the war ended, Boy's father Dundun went to reclaim his remains and return them to Aruba for a proper burial. His body was laid to rest in 1947 with military honors. Two years later, a statue was erected to remember Boy the war hero in a park in his birthplace, Oranjestad. There is also a war museum there with a permanent exhibition to commemorate his life. The Dutch government also posthumously recognized Boy with a Resistance Commemorative Cross in 1984.

Boy's story lives on with the help of his nephew, Ted Schouten who became interested in researching his adventures. In 1985 Ted wrote the book 'Boy Ecury, an Antillean Boy in the Resistance', which was reprinted by the Dutch government in 2000. Ted also worked with the Dutch director Franz Weisz to make the film 'Boy Ecury' in 2003 about Dundun's search for the body of his son.