So when there was not an immediate risk, he was allowed to help feed the cows and pigs. The danger of the situation gradually increased. And when a platoon of seventy German soldiers suddenly arrived on the farm, Joop had to spend more than two consecutive weeks hidden in a cubby-hole under the hay. On his eighth birthday, a courier from the Resistance delivered this splendid gift to Joop. His cousin Jonny and a Russian pilot who were hiding close by, at the Geurink family’s farm in Lichtenvoorde, had made this bomber for him from a wooden toilet seat. On the first anniversary of the Liberation, a parade was held in the nearby village of Varsseveld. Joop joined the procession, dressed as... naturally a pilot, with his plane proudly tucked under his arm.