The sky was full of aircraft dropping 700 parachutes today near Arnhem, Netherlands to remember the real "Bridge Too Far" 80 years ago today.
It was carried live on the BBC this morning.
Very moving both on TV at breakfast and by all accounts in the very large crowd who congregated to thank the heroes, nearly all gone now.
My thoughts were with PharmerPhil one of our regular contributors who has made their share of jumps at D-Day commemorations.
Thanks for posting this, Nigel. We finished watching Band of Brothers just last night, so the paratroopers have been on my mind.
The liberation of the Netherlands started on 12 September 1944 in Mesch, a small village south of Maastricht. The occupation ended on 5 May 1945 in Wageningen (west of Arnhem) with the signing of the surrender there in “Hotel De Wereld”. So that’s a very long time for such a small country. And also mean many lived in fear for such a long time. But with the liberation of colonial Indonesia on 15 August 1945 it’s the offical date for the end of WWII for the Netherlands. So many had to live there and relatives here in fear even longer.
So the 80th anniversary in the Netherlands is held between these two dates. With Operation Market Garden as the most famous and for some contributors has a special place in their hearts.
