Deliver Us From Darkness
Page 29
Zetten was a wasteland of destroyed and damaged buildings and most of the houses in our street were gone. The front wall of my parents’ barn was full of holes, but at least the house was still standing, despite the basement being flooded. Everything had been looted, even our pots and pans, and I was horrified to find human hair and bloodstains splattered across the floor and walls of my bedroom.
I visited my friend Bets den Hartog’s house and found a German jackboot with part of the leg still inside. Despite the supposed cleanup, the threat from unexploded ordnance was still a problem. A close friend stood on a landmine and was blown to pieces and I can still remember seeing the parts of his body hanging from a nearby tree. In another village two little boys were killed in a similar way. It was a terrifying time, but slowly the mines were cleared and the community was rebuilt.
I managed to get a job working in an office for the district of Valburg. One day my sister came to visit we were standing outside talking, when two Canadian soldiers from the First Special Service Force drove by on their motorcycles. My sister and I were both wearing dresses made from white parachute silk, which caught the eye of the Canadians. I became very close friends with one of the men, James Anderson, who two years later invited me to Canada, where we were married on January 2, 1948.
Two weeks after Zetten was declared “safe” the people from Opheusden, Dodewaard, and Hien were allowed to return. As they passed through Andelst, many began to notice signs in English stating “Whisky Route,” which led straight to the Vink’s cider factory at Hien! Some like Dick Bakker managed to get home earlier as he recalls: “I wangled my way back to Hemmen with a merchant who lived at Zetten. The farm was a total mess and I counted over 1,500 shell craters around the property. Incredibly the Germans had built a massive wooden bunker inside our barn which was surrounded by a deep drainage pit full of stagnant water.”
Food was still in short supply and many locals had to stand in line for grocery parcels delivered by the Ministry of Food while others received assistance from charities such as the International Christian Organization. The fighting might have been over, but the effects of the war would be felt by these communities for some time to come.
In total during Market Garden, the 101st Airborne Division lost over 900 men killed, nearly 4,000 wounded, and 1,000 captured or missing. Between 1945 and 1966, the bodies of 27 American servicemen missing in action at Opheusden were discovered and given proper burials; however, the remains of S/Sgt Harry Clawson and Pfc Morris Thomas were not discovered until 1971. When exhumed, they were each found to have a complete set of dog tags, but only Thomas’ skeletal remains revealed any sign of fractures associated with being crushed. Capt Donald Froamke’s body was recovered in 1945, perfectly preserved in the boggy marshland of the Biezenwei, and still carrying a map case and silver-plated fighting knife. At the time of writing the remains of Tex Collier and Leo Jeucken have never been recovered, but maybe one day in the future they will be found and returned to their families. Looking back on the campaign, MajGen Maxwell D. Taylor was quoted as saying, “In my prejudiced view, if the operation had been properly backed from its inception and given the aircraft, ground forces, and administrative resources necessary for the job, it would have succeeded in spite of my mistakes or the adverse weather, or the presence of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in the Arnhem area. I remain Operation Market Garden’s unrepentant advocate.”
Perhaps the last word should go to one of the enlisted men, Pfc James Martin, from G Company:
All the airborne troops did a magnificent job throughout Market Garden.The problem in my opinion was not [LtGen] Dempsey, it was General Montgomery for not moving the troops up the highway quickly enough. They always said that it was ‘A Bridge Too Far’ but I refute that. The British paratroops had a long ride over and were dropped about six miles from their objective and therefore lost the element of surprise. The British and Poles did not get the back-up support as promised. That stalled everything. The Germans had almost unlimited artillery and armor – so where was the tactical air support… High-value troops like paratroopers should never be kept in purely defensive positions where there is no strategic objective to be denied to the enemy. The worst part of the whole thing was the fact that all the fuel and supplies for this operation were taken from Patton, who was furious. The idea of trying to maintain a supply line on 30 miles of road through enemy-held territory seems to me to be pretty foolhardy, especially without proper tactical air support.
To this day Market Garden remains a controversial operation, hotly debated by historians and veterans alike. But what cannot be disputed is the unquestionable courage and determination of the Third Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
Bibliography
Listed below are works that I have consulted during my research. To their authors I offer my sincere thanks.
Books and Papers
Burgett, Donald, The Road to Arnhem (Dell Publishing, 2001)
DiCarlo, Hank and Westphal, Alan, Currahee Scrapbook (506 PIR, 1945)
Gutjahr, Major Robert G., The Role of Jedburgh Teams in Operation Market Garden (thesis presented to the US Army Command and General Staff College, 1978) c/o Tom Timmermans
Heaps, Leo, The Grey Goose of Arnhem (Futura Publications Ltd, 1976)
Koskimaki, George, Hell’s Highway (101st Airborne Division Association, 1989)
Liddell Hart, Sir Basil Henry (editor-in-chief) and Pitt, Barry (ed.), History of the Second World War Part 17, Civilians in the Front Line (Marshall Cavendish USA, 1973)
Margry, Karel, De bevrijding van Eindhoven (The Liberation of Eindhoven) (September Festival Foundation, 1982)
Mehosky, Ivan Paul, The Story of a Soldier (Rutledge Books, Inc., 2001)
Norton, G. G., The Red Devils (From Bruneval to the Falklands) (Leo Cooper, 1984)
Rapport, Leonard and Northwood, Arthur Jr., Rendezvous with Destiny (Infantry Jounal Press, 1948)
Sigmond, Robert and Van den Bosch, Cees, (ed.) Escape across the Rhine, Operations ‘Pegasus’ I and II, October/November 1944 (Airborne Museum Hartenstein, 1999)
Taylor, George (compiler), The 5th D.C.L.I in N.W. Europe, 1939–45
Van Hout, Jan, (ed.), Aangeboden Door De Gemeente Eindhoven, Herinneringen Aan September 1944 (Memories of September 1944 – Presented by the Municipality of Eindhoven) (self-published, 2004)
Reports and personal letters
442nd Troop Carrier Group After Action Reports Operation: “Linnet,” “Comet” and “Market” (1944)
Air Support Requests 101st A/B Division 20–26 September 1944
Eindhoven Fire Brigade Reports 13–19 September (1944), c/o Tom Timmermans
First British Airborne Corps Operation “Market” Report on Airborne Medical Services (1944)
Headquarters 506th PIR “After Action Report” – Operation “Market” (1944)
Headquarters 506th PIR Citation “Dorshout Bridge” (1944)
Headquarters 506th PIR Citation “Operation Pegasus I” (1944)
Headquarters 506th PIR Statistics: 17–26 September (1944)
Headquarters 506th PIR Unit Journal for Operation “Market” (1944)
Headquarters IX Troop Carrier Command Operation: “Linnet,”“Comet” and “Market” (1944)
Holland Recollections H/506, October 1985 (tape recording), c/o Pat McCann
Marshaling Area in England and Holland from 14–19 September 1944 by Captain Derwood Cann (1948)
Memoire of Maarten van den Bent “Pegasus I” – Airborne Museum Hartenstein, c/o Dan Viergever
Pegasus Memorial Battlefield Tour Guide, 12 September 2008, c/o Daan Viergever
Personal letters of Fred Anderson, c/o Kathleen Anderson
Personal letters of Alex Andros, c/o Aaron Walser
Personal letters of Willem de Bosch, c/o Bernard Florissen
Personal letters of Harry Clawson, c/o Aaron Walser
Personal letter of Bart Franken, c/o Ross McLachlan
Personal letter o
f Henricus van Genugten, c/o Tom Timmermans
Personal letters of Robert Harwick, c/o Bob Smoldt
Personal letter of Sam Hefner, c/o Aaron Walser
Personal letters of Clark Heggeness, c/o John Klein
Personal letters and information of Darvin Lee, c/o Judy Gamble
Personal letters of Willemien Loedeman (née Taken), c/o George McMillan
Personal letter of Joe Marshall, c/o Judy Gamble
Personal letters of James Morton, c/o Fred Bahlau
Personal letter of Rolf Polman, c/o Ross McLachlan
Personal letter of Robert Radmann, c/o Daan Viergever
Personal letters of Helen B. Ramsey (née Briggs), c/o Bill Wedeking
Personal letters of Dirk Tap, c/o Willemien van Steenbergen
Personal letters of Doug Wilber, c/o Bernard Florissen
Tactical Operations of the 101st A/B Division 17–27 September (1944)
Tactical Study HQ XVIII Corps Airborne Operation “Market” (1944)
Tape recordings of interviews with Robert Webb (1980s), c/o Bob Webb Jnr
Report on the last flight of Halifax – JD214 and her crew by Joop Siepermann
Wartime memoire of Landon Kenneth Cozad
Interviews
As noted in the Introduction a number of people were interviewed in the course of my research and these are used extensively throughout the book. The individuals interviewed are listed below in alphabetical order:
Jannie Anderson Wim Klerkx
Fred Bahlau Walter Lukasavage
Sam Bailey James Melhus
Dick Bakker Frans Mientjes
Manny Barrios George McMillan
Ralph Bennett Ross McLachlan
Frits Berens James Martin
Derwood Cann Wan van Overweld
Landon Cozad Johannes Peerbolte
Henk de Jong Judson Wright Pittam
Mario “Hank” DiCarlo Clazien van Rinsum
Jo van Dongen Geurt van Rinsum
Joe Doughty Bobbie Rommel
Bob Dunning Albert Roxs
Teddy Dziepak Frits van Schaik
Bill Galbraith Jaap van Schaik
John Gibson Seymour Shapiro
Kenneth Glassburn Ed Shames
Johannes van den Hatert Ray Skully
Piet van den Heuvel Harold Stedman
Jenny and Jan van Hout Noud Stultiens
Ben Hiner Dirk van Tintelen
Ken Johnson Bill Wedeking
Hendrik de Jong Daan Viergever
Jos Klerkx
Glossary
BAR Browning Automatic Rifle
BS Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten
CD Controle Dienst (Control Duty)
CP command post
DCLI Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
DLM Dutch Liaison Mission
DZ drop zone
GFA Glider Field Artillery
GIR Glider Infantry Regiment
IP Initial Point
IPW Interrogation Prisoner of War team
IR Infanterie-Regiments
LKP Landelijke Knokploegen (National Paramilitary Group)
LMG light machine gun
LO Landeljke Organisatie (National Organization)
LOD line of defense
Med Det medical detachment
MG machine gun
MIA missing in action
MLR Main Line of Resistance
NCO Non-Commissioned Officer
NSB Dutch Nationaal Socialistische Beweging (National Socialist Movement)
OD Orde Dienst (Order Service)
OP observation post
PAN Partisanen Actie Nederland (Partisan Action Netherlands)
P/F Pathfinder company
QRF Quick Release Fastening
RHQ Regimental Headquarters
RVV Raad van Verzet (Council for the Resistance)
SFHQ Special Forces Headquarters
SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
SOE Special Operations Executive
TAC Tactical Air Force
TCG Troop Carrier Group
TSMG Thompson sub-machine gun
XO executive officer
Vehicle checkpoint and traffic control, close to 101st Divisional HQ at Slijk-Ewijk. (Donald van den Bogert)
A routine patrol from the 502, after the battle for Opheusden, passing through the Hemmen-Dodewaard station near Boelenham farm. (Donald van den Bogert)
Members of the 321st Glider Field Artillery Regiment calling in fire control orders from their dugout control post in Hemmen. (Tom Peeters)
Three members of the 506th PIR dangerously expose themselves to engage a stranded enemy patrol. (Currahee Scrapbook)
Randwijk – one of the last surviving traditional brick factories on the Rijn. The set of windows visible in the roof were used by the 321st Glider Field Artillery Regiment as an observation post. Bricks are still made here today by hand in the traditional way using wooden moulds.
The commanding view offered to the Germans from the high ground at Westerbouwing south across the Neder Rijn onto the island. Note the railway bridge at Driel seen here on the far left.
Photograph taken looking southeast towards Zetten as members of the 101st Airborne Division cross the bridge over the Linge Canal along Wageningsestraat, heading for positions along the Rijn. (Donald van den Bogert)
Tunnel previously dug by the Germans through the main dijk wall near Wolfswaard. (Currahee Scrapbook)
View across the Neder Rijn from the observation post used by 321GFA in the brick factory at Randwijk.
2nd Lt Ed Shames (left) and S/Sgt Paul Rogers in a photograph taken at Saalfelden, Austria 1945. As a joke Paul is wearing Ed’s cap to show who really wore the trousers in 3 Ptn E Co. (Karen McGee via Sara Shames Ehret)
The windmill known as “Fire at Will” located in the 3 Ptn sector at Heteren, pictured here in 1939. (Donald van den Bogert)
LtCol David Dobie, CO of 1 Para, 1944. (Imperial War Museum via Bob Hilton)
LtCol Robert Strayer, CO of 2/506. (Currahee Scrapbook)
Photograph taken midway across the Neder Rijn close to where the Pegasus 1 boat crossing took place.
Ed Shames standing on the southern bank of the Neder Rijn in October 2007, contemplating the success of Operation Pegasus 1.
Pfc Frank Lujan (I Co 3 Ptn) was taken prisoner by the Germans and is pictured here at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. (Colleen Holt).
Landgoed Schoonderlogt (meaning country house) near Valburg, became the 506th PIR command post from October 28–November 25, 1944. When the British first arrived on the Island they famously knocked out several German tanks at a crossroads near the farm complex. (John Reeder via D-Day Paratroopers Historical Center, St-Côme-du-Mont)
Landgoed Schoonderlogt (right) today. (Geurt van Rinsum)
The primary school on Kerkstraat at Andelst (municipality of Valburg) that became the 506th regimental aid station during the latter part of the Island campaign. (Bernard Florissen – Opheusden)
November 1944, Regimental Surgeon Maj Louis Kent (left) and medic T/4 Paul Miller standing outside the aid station in Andelst. (John Gibson via John Klein)
A knocked out Tiger tank remains as a stark reminder of the fearsome tank battle that took place between the Germans and the British around Valburg/Elst on September 21, 1944. (Donald van den Bogert)
Wrecked British vehicles were scattered throughout the area – an American team are seen here attempting to recover a previously abandoned truck. (Currahee Scrapbook)
Maj Lloyd Patch took over command of 3/506 from Maj Robert Harwick on November 21, 1944. This photograph was taken in Austria after Patch had been promoted to lieutenant colonel. (Bob Webb Jnr)
View north along the top of the railway embankment, where the Germans had their positions, looking across the river Rijn towards Oosterbeek. The Germans blew up the bridge on September 17, 1944.
Members of the 506th trying to repair a flood-damaged road near the regimental command
post at Valburg. (Currahee Scrapbook)
This picture most likely shows 1st Bn preparing to leave Lienden en route for Mourmelon-le-Grand, France, at 0600hrs on November 26, 1944. 2nd Bn departed the day before from Valburg. (Donald van den Bogert)
This enemy Stug III 75mm self-propelled gun was knocked out by a member of C Co 501 PIR using a British Piat antitank weapon as it emerged through the archway of the railway bridge at Driel on October 5, 1944. (Geurt van Rinsum)
On November 12, 1944, S/Sgt Ralph Bennett received his Silver Star from LtGen Lewis Brereton (CO of the First Allied Airborne Army). The 60mm mortar sergeant won the award while covering the withdrawal of H Co from Opheusden on October 5. (Ralph Bennett)
An aerial photograph taken near Driel in early December 1944, clearly showing the extensive flooding caused when the Germans demolished the dijk and flooded the Island. Note stranded ship top centre. (Geurt van Rinsum)
Regimental bar at Camp Chalons, at Mourmelon-le-Grand. Duty corporal Bob Hoffman (H Co 1Ptn) poses for the camera while dishing out drinks. Lofty T/5 Don Baker (RHQ Company) is seen (left) behind the soldier being served by Hoffman. (Currahee Scrapbook)
Pfc Jim Melhus (left) and Pvt John D. Figuerda on leave in Paris in December 1944. Note the white boot laces, made from parachute rigging lines. (Jim Melhus)
T/5 Johnny Gibson (3/506 Medical Detachment) and T/4 Dave Marcus (RHQ S-3) glad to be alive and enjoying themselves in Paris. (John Gibson via John Klein)
Andelst, December 1944. A jeep is photographed being driven through floodwater along Tielsestraat near to the Leigraaf Canal. (Donald van den Bogert)