Ershad Ali

My father, Ershad Ali, was born in the then India. According to his friends, he was very brave and energetic from his early life. He joined the Indian Merchant Navy at a very young age. During his service at the Navy, the 2nd World War came and he joined the war. My father had come home last when I was only 6 months old. That was the last time he saw his only son. Then he went to India and joined the war as a crew of the Dutch armed ship S S Garoet. The ship, S S Garoet, was declared as a Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship (DEMP) for the Allies.In the Indian Ocean on Monday 19th June 1944, the SS Garoet was steaming on a non-evasive course at 10 knots on a moonless night some 600 miles northeast of Mauritius. The ship was on passage from Bombay to Durban. The ship was hit on port side in by two torpedoes from a German submarine in a moderate sea, the ship sank within two minutes, too quickly for the 99 crew aboard to send distress signals or to launch lifeboats. Two of the boats were dragged down with the sinking ship and only ten men survived. My father was one of the 89 who had no grave but the sea.Later, in 1952 an official letter came just stating that my father died in the 2nd World War. When, where and how he died was unknown to us for 75 years. Recently my son and I have had a quite effort to explore the story and we have secured the official recognition of my father’s bravery from the Netherlands. My father sacrificed his life while serving the Netherlands.Today, we are observing the 76th death anniversary of my father. Two weeks ago, he has been awared The Dutch Mobilization War Cross for the Dutch Defence Ministry. We feel very proud.Md. Ataur Rahman C/O: Md Suhel Rana S/O: Ershad Ali Sluiten