Operation Market Garden gets under way. In this picture it is only the second day of the operation. Young Dutch admirers are all smiles and the men of the 101st Airborne Division are eager to get on with the task. But Arnhem would prove one bridge too far in trying to swing into the heart of Germany beyond the northern reaches of the West Wall. For many Allied soldiers, including two of the GIs in this picture, the failure cost them their lives in later campaigns, including that in the Ardennes. For more posts on WWII and the Bulge see my Facebook page.
