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Today we had our traditional Dutch breakfast at the hotel as we prepared to leave. If I haven’t mentioned it before the Dutch people eat a lot of breads, sweet breads, cold cuts, & cheese. We also have cereal, yogurt, and fruit. However that is what we find again at lunch, although already made up into various sandwiches. We also could have dinner type entrees but we didn’t want to eat that much knowing there would be a big meal at the hotel tonight. Asparagus grows very well around here and we see signs everywhere. It is a white asparagus not the green kind we know at home.
From the hotel we drove through the Dutch country side to the Wall bridge which was taken by the 82nd Airborne. It is now called the Thompson Bridge because Thompson (member of the 82nd) delayed landing for a few more minutes because he wanted to get closer to the bridge. Only 15 men jumped out with him and because they landed right at the bridge they were able to take it within minutes and held it so the Germans couldn’t blow it up. Near the bridge were 2 concrete bunkers built by
Bunker 1
You can see the holes made by the shelling the Dutch in 1936 to protect the bridge from the Germans after WWI. If you look closely at the pictures you can see the bullet holes made by the 82nd when they overtook the bridge. What makes all of this so much more interesting is that our host, Jan van Helden, was 8 years old and lived in this area when they were liberated by the 82nd airborne. He can remember shaking hands with some of the soliders of that division and in an interesting turn of events he hosted a reunion tour of the 82nd about 10 years ago. He and the Dutch really appreciated all the Americans did for their country during the war. That is evident all over the country. Jan still lives in Nijmegen today just about two miles from where he grew up and was liberated.
We then traveled on to the Liberation Museum in Groesbeek which highlights WWii history from the spread of National Socialism to the events of “Market Garden” . It is so sad to view all of the history and read all of the stories about the war in this museum. It was almost too much to take in during one
Bunker 2
This shows the holes better visit. Jan, our host, told us that on the day they were liberated people in church were praying to be liberated and when they came out they saw angels falling from the sky. The angels grew bigger and looked like men hanging on pieces of clothe and the townspeople considered themselves liberated at that moment even though the battle had not yet begun. In tribute to the paratroopers one part of the museum is shaped like a parachute. Of course while we were there Larry found another tank…this time a Sherman tank…to climb onto…but unfortunately the hinges were painted shut.
Our last stop before going to our hotel for the night was the American Military Cemetery in Margraten. Over 8000 American servicemen are buried there. There were at least 40 pairs of brothers laid side by side in this cemetery. This really tugs on your heart.
Tonight we have a dinner at our hotel with our fellow travelers. It is always enjoyable to share stories and discussion with the other members of our group. We only stay one night here so it is off to Germany tomorrow.
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