Fred Ormskerk


Frederik Ferdinand "Fred" Ormskerk was a Surinamese military leader. He was awarded many honors for his military services in Indonesia and Korea. After a KNIL training at Camp Casino, Australia, he arrived in Batavia. There, he became a soldier in the newly formed Korps Speciale Troepen, led by Captain Westerling. He was nicknamed Bikkel, which means "stud".

Early life

Frederik Ferdinand Ormskerk was born in Nickerie District on 26 April 1923, to a military family. His father was one Alexander Reinier Francois Ormskerk and is distantly related to Abraham George Eliis.

Death

On 25 February 1980, Ormskerk along with a few others would participate in a coup d'état led by Dési Bouterse, which would result in Dési being appointed as the de-facto president. On 30 April 1985, Ormskerk would allegedly orchestrate an attempted counter-coup before being arrested, tortured and dying the next day on May 1.

Awards