New Friends

I sit in Wim van den Bosch's nephew's home right behind his uncle's house. To the left is our Dutch Airborne friends and guides for our tour, Bernhard Florissen and Wim Wibte. Wim still remembers the day when hundreds of Allied planes flew over him to drop paratroopers and bring in gliders on September 17, 1944. Directly behind me is Gud van den Garde flanked by his wife To and their daughter Menno. We are having coffee and cake with them. Below is a picture my brother Dave took as Wim and Bernhard drive us around in an excellant tour of the battlefield in their Army jeeps. Bernhard has been the main force behind getting three memorials deciated to the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles" in the village of Opheusden. Bernhard, born in 1943, has collected many artifacts from the battlefield including knives, helmets and rifles from both sides of the conflict.