Of Wars and Morning Glories

About the Book

A true story seen through the eyes of a young girl who had no time to be a child, as she and her father sidestepped the German invasion of Western Europe in World War II, only to end up in the middle of the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies.

The earliest recollections are as a whisper of the past, but recall becomes crisp and sharp as tensions of war become etched in photographic memory. The accuracy of detail is supported by extensive research.

A perplexing voyage from Belgium took them through warring France and on a mail-boat to Java.

During the Japanese occupation, her father was taken to Kanchanaburi Thailand, and the Japanese army and later Indonesian terrorists imprisoned her, her mother, and her younger brother. Optimism of youth, a strong bond between her and her younger brother, friendships throughout, and the Morning Glories made it bearable.

About the Author

Helene A. Setjo-Heijblom was born on the island of Java, educated in the Netherlands East Indies as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the USA.

She lived with relatives and was schooled in Belgium. When World War II broke out in Europe her father traveled to Belgium to take her home. When he arrived, Europe was in war, and no ships left Northern Europe. The two traveled through warring countries to Italy to catch the last commercial mail-boat to leave for years.

Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies. Her father, a POW in slave labor, died while working on the Burma Railroad and the Kwai Rivers Bridges.