BRAVE LITTLE ISLAND

I was going to change up tonight and post a little bit about something I know but I ran across this while I was researching and it is too good a story to pass up. From an era of brave people, the story of the last Royal Netherlands Navy Ship to make it out after the fall of the Netherlands East Indies to the Japanese when the Japanese attacked and overran the defenses of the American, British, Dutch and Australian forces.

HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen was a Royal Netherlands Navy minesweeper. Built during the 1930s, she was based in the Netherlands East Indies when the Japanese invaded at the end of 1941. Ordered to retreat, the ship was disguised as a tropical island to avoid detection and attack, and was the last Dutch ship to escape from Java. On arriving in Australia in 1942, she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Abraham Crijnssen and operated as an anti-submarine escort.

HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen disguised as a tropical island

The scant details are here.