Posted on 09/19/2004 8:07:35 AM PDT by knighthawk
ARNHEM, The Netherlands (AFP) - Dutch Queen Beatrix and Britain's Prince Charles laid wreaths for the victims of the failed Market Garden operation in World War II in a religious ceremony to honour the veterans of the epic Allied defeat.
In the daring but doomed nine day operation in 1944 more than 1,700 paratroopers of the 10,000 dropped over Arnhem were killed.
"It was not in vain, because here we stand 60 years later in a spirit of friendship and cooperation between European States that was just a dream 60 years ago ... 'A Bridge Too Far' has become a bridge to the future," British army chaplain Jeff Cuttell said Sunday, refering to the Hollywood movie that immortalised the battle of Arnhem.
At the Airborne cemetery in Oosterbeek, near Arnhem, over 500 British, American and Polish veterans, all well into their seventies and eighties, attended the ceremony.
In all, 15,000 people stood in and outside the enclosed grounds to see the commemoration.
The religious ceremony was the final event in a week of events to mark the 60th anniversary of Market Garden, the largest airborne and glider operation in history.
The daring strategy was conceived by British General Bernard Montgomery designed to let Allied troops sweep through The Netherlands in a surprise push towards Germany by securing a strategic bridge over the Rhine river.
The aim was to defeat the Nazi military machine and end the war before the close of 1944.
The bold operation failed, partly due to bad planning and partly due to an unexpectedly strong resistance from German SS Panzer divisions.
Besides the 1,700 dead, 3,000 soldiers were wounded. Only 2,000 soldiers were able to return to allied ranks: the remaining troops were captured by the German forces.
In a speech he gave at the eve of the official commemoration Prince Charles called the battle of Arnhem "a story of astonishing sacrifice and heroism".
"It is with immense pride and a heavy heart that we remember those who died in the battle of Arnhem," he said.
Reverend Jim Morrison, an 89-year-old British veteran of the battle of Arnhem, spoke Sunday of his surprise that the Dutch still honoured the veterans even though the operation failed and the town was left in ruins.
"But you were there, you gave us hope," he quoted a woman telling him when he asked why they were still welcomed so warmly in the region.
The Netherlands were finally liberated in May 1945 and in September that same year the first commemoration of Arnhem already was held place in Oosterbeek as it has been every year since.
On Sunday some 1,000 children were at the ceremony to lay flowers at the rows of white gravestones of the fallen soldiers. Many wore t-shirts saying: "I am a child of freedom, thank you Mr. veteran".
To mark the end of the moving proceedings an army trumpeter played "The Last Post" and a minute of silence was observed.
As people filed out of the cemetery vintage World War II Dakota planes, the same as were used in 1944 to drop paratroopers, flew over in a final salute.
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It is the equivalent of the Charge of the Light Brigade or the surrender of Singapore.
But what the hey it was that fighting general monty leading the charge.
Poor planning and unexpected resistance. But in the end, victory. Sound familiar?
When friends and I visited the cemetery at Oosterbeck in 1999 we were amazed at the youth of the casualties. Very few of the officers, amongst whom were Majors and Lieutenant Colonels, or the enlisted men had yet made it to thirty years of age. When we discussed the youth of the 1st Airborne troops and juxtaposed it against the mission they undertook it was impossible to not feel humble in their presence.
Andries Hoekstra's Market Garden page is quite simply the best. Well worth visiting:
http://www.marketgarden.com/
BTW, I *hate* the AFP headline. "Brave men", "Veterans", any number of words and phrases would work better than "Victims". Victims don't jump out of airplanes to attack their enemies. The French influence at AFP, I suppose.
This is quite remarkable. 60 years after the fact and yet so many people still respect the effort.
If there is a time for a re-post, this is it:
My postman in Ponca City, OK was one of the US paratroopers; he survived the four major airdrops in the European Theater.
He was just about the quietest and low-key man attending my church. I didn't believe a friend who told me Jake McNiece had been a "fussin' and fightin'" paratrooper until I saw his name listed as a reference in one of Cornelius Ryan's books.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1932033122/qid=1095628419/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-5166748-3839024
YEs, we are not like the French lol
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