Halim Perdanakusuma
Halim Perdanakusuma Perdanakusuma was born in Sampang, Madura, Dutch East Indies, on 18 November 1922. After attending elementary and middle school at schools for native Indonesians, he attended the Opleidingschool voor Inlandsche Ambtenaren in Magelang. However, he dropped out in his 2nd year and joined the Naval Academy of Surabaya to answer the Dutch colonial government's call for militia. After finishing the academy, he spent some time in the Dutch Colonial Navy's information department. At the time of the Japanese invasion of the Indies in 1942, against which he had been trained to fight, Perdanakusuma was in Britain, training in navigation with the Royal Canadian Air Force; as part of his training, he flew on 44 missions throughout Europe, including flying Avro Lancasters in bombing missions over Nazi Germany. After the end of World War II, Perdanakusuma returned to newly independent Indonesia. He joined the nascent military under Commodore Suryadi Suryadarma; together...