Petrus Rassin (b.1901) moved with his family from Maastricht to Veldwezelt on 14 March 1939 to occupy the “Bekker” guesthouse on the Bilzerbaan-Grotebaan crossroads. His wife, three sons, two daughters and he were very close. The business took off when Belgian soldiers began building the trenches and defensive works nearby. On the day of the attack, the Luftwaffe paid special attention to the crossroads where the Rassin guesthouse stood, and the father, his 14-year old son Herman and six-year old daughter Maria were killed.

Louis-Paul Boon, who after the war became a renowned Flemish-language writer, served with 2.Carabiniers-Regt. at the Briegden bridge. He was taken prisoner on 12 May and led by his captors through Veldwezelt. He would never forget what he saw when he came to the place where once the Rassin house had stood:

“We went along the road not knowing where to look. The stench of the corpses of soldiers, children, horses, overwhelmed me. When I was small I was told that the road to hell was a dark path. Now I knew what that meant. Where a café had been yesterday now there was only rubble and ashes. In the nearby bakery three wonderful girls lived. One of them lay stretched out on the ground. I would like to have forgotten it quickly. We marched on and came to more ruined houses. A man offered us a jug of water to quench our thirst³³”.

Two-year old Miake Roox lived with her parents Nicolas Roox and Cathérine Geurts and two sisters near the bridge on the north side of the Bilzerbaan (Lindestraat 27). On the day of the attack her brother Servaes was on leave, far from Veldwezelt. One of the German gliders came down on land near their house. The father saw paratroopers assembling nearby³⁴. As he did not know who they were he asked them what was going on. They told him he should return to his house, for the war had begun. Without losing any time he took his wife and children down into the cellar. A Belgian soldier, attempting to avoid the assault, ran into their house and joined them there. He told them they should sit in a corner, for that was undoubtedly the safest place. At 0530 hrs a terrible explosion resulted in the death of little Miake and seriously injured her mother. The father was only slightly hurt and able to clear away the rubble which had fallen in on them. At 1430 hrs they were given medical attention by the Germans.