located near the main entrance of the base. On Remembrance of the Dead, May 4, the RNLAF holds a ceremony to remember and commemorate the fallen of World War II. The other monument at the base is for Executed Resistance Fighters. It is the symbol for the sacrifice that 33 resistance fighters gave for freedom. Every year on 19 November, there is a memorial service. During World War II, the German Army (Wehrmacht) secretly executed the 33 resistance fighters in the woods of the base. The resistance fighters were part of several resistance groups and most of them were caught due to betrayal. Although the execution was held in secret, there were rumours about it, and after the war the base was minutely searched. The mass grave, camouflaged by buried trees, was located by Major A. Siedenburg. His son was one of the victims. United States use In 1954, the Dutch government agreed to the stationing of a US Air Force fighter squadron to augment air defence. The USAF forces operated from a part of Soesterberg Air Base which was named Camp New Amsterdam, in honour of the first Dutch settlement in America, Nieuw Amsterdam, later renamed New York City. 512th Fighter-Day Squadron The first U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) unit to operate from Soesterberg was the 512th Fighter-Day Squadron, which arrived with North American F-86F "Sabre" on 16 November 1954 from RAF Manston in the UK. By July 1955, the 512th reached full operational status. 32d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron In September 1955, the designation of the 512th was transferred to RAF Shepherds Grove, where it replaced the 78th FIS. Its aircraft, personnel and equipment however stayed in the Netherlands, and made up the newly activated 32d Fighter Day Squadron, which was operated at Soesterberg as a detachment of the 36th Fighter Wing at Bitburg Air Base in West Germany. In 1956, the squadron transitioned to the North American F-100 Super Sabre. The 32d sent five instructors pilots to Sidi Slimane AB in Morocco to complete transition training for the F-100. At the same time, the squadron began ferrying the F-86s to Prestwick, Scotland, and Châteauroux-Déols Air Base in France for disposal. On 18 July 1958, USAFE redesignated the unit as the 32d Tactical Fighter Squadron, as part of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing. Due to the requirement of a longer runway for landing and take offs, the runway of