Dutch family has cared for graves of American soldiers for 80 years

Three generations of a Dutch family have been the caretakers of an American soldier’s grave since 1945 — and promise future descendants will do the same.

Ernest Francis Fichtl Jr., from the Little Neck neighborhood of Queens, was killed during one of World War II’s bloodiest European battles and is buried at Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten.

But until recently, his family back in New York did not know that his grave site is lovingly tended to by his adopted family in the Netherlands. And it’s not the only one.

Since the end of the war in Europe in 1945, Margraten residents have honored the sacrifice of the more than 8,000 men and women who perished fighting the German army in the region, which saw some of the war’s bloodiest battles. In many cases, the “adoptions”