European Battlefields 2003

We spent three days visiting sites associated with Operation Market Garden, the Allies' unsuccessful attempt to capture four Dutch bridges with airborne troops. We used Eindhoven as our base. We had a local guide, Rob. Joe's father was shot down during the operation and hidden by the Dutch underground until liberated by British troops.( Family connections) Joe's father put us in touch with Rob, a member of the 101st Airborne association and very familiar with all aspects of World War II history.

Left -- Rob stands in the landing zone of th 82nd Airborne near Overasselt, marked by sculptures. Below left -- The modern bridge at Grave, where the 82nd captured the structure intact. Below right -- Joe, Rob, Bill, and Gil overlooking the Rhine River where the Germans stopped the Allies. Right -- Wayne stands before a windmill.

Our next stop was Avril Williams' bed and breakfast on the Somme battlefield. On the way, we stopped to visit the Belgian fort, Eben Emael , along with Rob and his friend, Mac. After the tour, we bid adieu to Rob and Mac. We used Avril's as a base to visit the Canadian World War I battlefield, Vimy Ridge , and a German Atlantic Wall fortification, Battery Todt, near Calais.

Close combat -- Eric and Gil wait in a preserved German trench while Bill climbs out of the Canadian trench at Vimy Ridge.	Ready for action -- Eric and Bill man an 11-inch German railway gun at the Battery Todt museum.

We spent two days in the Verdun area. The first day we toured the Meuse-Argonne area, visiting the memorials to the 1918 American offensive at the end of World War I. On the second day, we concentrated on the French battlefield from 1915.

Meuse-Argonne is home to the largest American cemetery in Europe with 14,246 graves.	Fort Douaumont saw fierce fighting during the battle of Verdun. Eric and Wayne flank an observation post atop the fort.

We spent three nights in Bastogne , our last stop. Thanks to Rob, we had a local guide. Andre was seven-year-old boy in Bastogne at the time of the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded and treated by American medical personnel. Andre took us to several locations which saw fighting near Bastogne. On our last day, we visited other sites in the Battle of the Bulge: Clervaux, Ouren , the Schnee Eifel, Trois Ponts, and La Gleize.

Left -- Bill crouches in one of the foxholes left by the men of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne near Foy. Right --Wayne climbs down into another foxhole left by Easy Company in the woods near Foy. Below Left -- Rob and Mac listen to Andre in Bastogne. Below Right -- Wayne and Joe examine a King Tiger tank on display at La Gleize.