Mr. Bombeeck: The Last Dutch Soldier of Radio Malabar

I should have met him, but now it’s too late. When I came to Gunung Puntang (A sub district where RM is located) a week ago, I was told by an officer at the gate that there used to be a Dutch man in wheelchair who came there regulary. Unfortunately, he passed away in December 2011. He wasn’t sure about his name and said it could be ‘Josef’. One thing that crossed my mind was that I could ask some people where ‘Mr. Josef’ lived, see his family (he was married with a local woman), and If I was lucky I could get some infos and photos of him and anything to do with RM.

I did asking around. A clue was that he lived near a gateway down the road from Gunung Puntang. After some strange bad rapport from ojek drivers (motorbike transportation) in Palalangon, I and two friends who were with me in the trip, were led to a house about a half kilometer away by one of the driver who knew him as ‘Bombek’. Sadly, nobody in the house but the servant. Even the servant (an old woman) didn’t know a thing about Mr. Josef. She said that the lady of the house went out of town.

My search has found a website that contains this :
Oh yes. I recognize that white metalwork for the house fence. I believe I have visited the right house back then. Turned out that his name was Josephus Franciscus Nicolass and Bombeeck was his nickname. I feel indebted to the website owner and have sent a message to him thru Facebook.
The next time I go to Gunung Puntang, I’ll make sure I pay a visit to his family.