September 17th. . . . . . . . . .

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

The 60th anniversary of the drop for MARKET-GARDEN, the operation to race the 60-odd miles to capture and secure Arnhem Bridge, and thus a bridgehead over the Rhine River. This is reflected by the excellent book A BRIDGE TOO FAR and by the movie of the same name.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been up that road, walked those forests and fields, and I wouldn't have wanted to fight there. Worse still was walking the British cemetery at Arnhem, recognizing many of the names, and knowing how they died. If there are any ghosts on any battlefield, there are, certainly, in the woods around Arnhem.

The operation could have worked... but we'll leave that for another thread. Suffice to say that it spelled the death of the British 1st Airborne Division, and We Remember Them. I have had the privilege to have bought beers for some of the glider pilots who took them in.

Some of our people, here at MLU, are there today. They will render our respects accordingly.

To all....