Oerip Soemohardjo

Oerip Soemohardjo

Oerip Soemohardjo (22 February 1893 – 17 November 1948) was an Indonesian general and the first chief of staff of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. He received several awards from the Indonesian government, including the title National Hero of Indonesia in 1964. Oerip was born Moehammad Sidik in Sindurjan, Purworejo, Dutch East Indies.

About Oerip Soemohardjo in brief

Summary Oerip SoemohardjoOerip Soemohardjo (22 February 1893 – 17 November 1948) was an Indonesian general and the first chief of staff of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. He received several awards from the Indonesian government, including the title National Hero of Indonesia in 1964. Oerip was born Moehammad Sidik in Sindurjan, Purworejo, Dutch East Indies, and died of a heart attack a few months later. He was the first son of a headmaster and the daughter of Raden Tumenggung Widjojokoesoemo, the regent of Trenggalek. As his parents wanted him to become a regent, he was sent to the School for Native Government Employees in Magelang. His mother died during his second year at the school, and he left to undertake military training in Meester Cornelis, Batavia. Upon graduating in 1914, he became a lieutenant in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. During almost 25 years of service he was stationed on three different islands and promoted several times, eventually becoming the highest-ranking Native officer in the country. He and his wife Rohmah then moved to a village near Yogyakarta, where they established a large garden and villa. After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940 Oerik was recalled to active duty. On 14 October 1945, several months after Indonesia proclaimed its independence, Oorip was declared the chief of. staff and interim leader of the newly formed army. He resigned in early 1948 because of the political leadership’s lack of trust in the army.

His health deteriorated; he was already suffering from a weak heart and he died of an heart attack in November 1948. Oorik was posthumously promoted to full general. The family later had two more sons, Iskandar and Soekirno, as well as three daughters. The boys were raised partly by servants, and at a young age Sidik began showing leadership qualities, commanding groups of neighbourhood children in fishing and games of football. The brothers attended the school for Javanese headed by their father, and as a result received special treatment; this led to them becoming complacent and frequently misbehaving. In his final year of elementary school he often visited his friend’s father, an ex-soldier who had served in Aceh, to listen to the old man’s stories, which inspired him to join the Army. After passing an exam for would-be state employees and several months of preparations for his parents’ funeral, he sank into a bout of depression and became withdrawn. The following year his mother died in 1909, and his brothers joined him to finish the year at his mother’s home. After finishing the year of finishing the school he became withdrawn and became a calmer, more reserved man. He later became a Calmer, but continued to misbehave in his final years of school. In 1914 he was transferred to a Dutch-run school for boys, in which he became calermer to be calmer.