while it is sad, why would an indonesian, or malay, or fillipino, or any of the poor employed in these operations care about dutch, dutch colonial, american. British, or Australian war graves? They do not see it as their own history (maybe they should, but they do not).
There is nothing new in this. From how north american european settlers and their descendeds have treated ameridian sacred grounds (a certain pipeline comes to mind), to how nations all over the globe have treated each others war graves. Perhaps in western Europe they have become better, but good luck finding Ottoman, German, or Italian military cemeteries (or even civilian cemeteries) in Greece, Ottoman, Serbian, and Greek military cemeteries (or even civilian cemeteries) in Bulgaria, Ottoman or Bulgarian, or Austrian cemeteries in Serbia etc. Hell I know people who steal other peoples graves in cemeteries to bury their own. Disgusting, but it happens more often then people think, especially where land is at a prenium.
In a world were humans are divided by creed, nation, tribe, some graves will always be less respected than others. It is good that veteran organisations (at least some of them) try to reach over those divisions, but that is simply a small minority (perhaps a minority within a minority) of humanity. Especially when there is money to make.
That said, andron epifanon pasa gis tafos "For exemplary humans, all earth is a tomb".
As long as there are people to remember them,the actions and bravery of the people who died at the Battle of Java Sea, will outlast the rotting metal, the perdify of thievery, the many dollars the salvage bosses will make, the pittance the salvage workers will make, and the general eradication of memory by time. If this makes some more people aware of the actions of that fateful battle, so be the better.For the greatest monument are those who remember you.
experiments to find a better way to mount aircraft for wargaming.
