Military career during World War II Born the son of a successful
Tulip farmer. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 Visser was drafted into the Dutch army. Visser fought during the
German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940. As a
conscript sergeant Visser was assigned to the
Dutch Legion in United Kingdom. He volunteered in 1942 to be
Radioman in No. 2 Dutch Troop,
No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. Along with other allied troops, Visser participated in his first battle in
Operation Market Garden, when the unit was incorporated into
82nd Airborne Division. Two weeks later, Visser was reassigned to
101st Airborne Division and landed in
Eindhoven. Despite heavy enemy fire, Visser managed to establish a connection with the resistance in
Veghel. In the weeks that followed, he took part in the fierce battle in the region. Visser also made himself useful by capturing Germans who wanted to surrender. This unit tried to land on 1 November in
Westkapelle in
Zeeland. However, the action led to so many losses that the Marines had to withdraw. The next morning another attempt was made, with Visser in charge of a number of landing craft (
LCVP). It worked and the
marines advanced to
Domburg. They went to
Veere by vessels for the supply of ammunition and the removal of wounded. This all happened under enemy fire from snipers positioned in trees. Visser was awarded the
Bronze Cross for his bravery during these operations. Not long after, Kawilarang managed to locate and meet with Visser who had remained a peaceful and law-abiding citizen in the newly independent Indonesia, settled in
West Java, married an Indonesian woman, and was known locally as
Mochammad Idjon Djanbi. He was the first recruit for the Army special forces and given the rank of major, as well as its
first commander. Due to him, the unit which later became
Kopassus wear red berets (color used by paratroopers wing Corps of
Regiment Speciale Troepen and traditionally favored by airborne troops in Europe) instead of the distinctive green beret. In 1956, with increasing combat capability of special forces, Army leadership saw opportunity to place the unit under the hands of indigenous officers. Due to lack of tact, this angered Djanbi and caused him to resign his position as commander. Later he was given position at a plantation as a result of the nationalization of a number of foreign-owned plantation. Prior to his retirement in 1969, he was promoted to be lieutenant colonel at the special force anniversary. ==Trivia==