Upon his death, Hendrik van Loon was described in The Times obituary as one of the most engaging products of the marriage between Holland and the United States . One of FDR s true and closest friends, van Loon emigrated from the Netherlands to the United States at age 20, in 1902. Working as a historian, journalist, illustrator, and radio commentator, van Loon immersed himself in American cultural life from the 1920s through the 40s, until his death three months before D-Day. Van Loon s profes