50,000 attend Market Garden commemoration; 2 paratroopers injured in jumps

About 50,000 people attended Saturday’s commemoration of the airborne landings and Operation Market Garden. Hundreds of paratroopers jumped onto the Ginkse Heide near Ede to reenact the 1944 air landings.

Two paratroopers were, however, injured, a municipal spokesperson said, and two of the first jumps were cancelled because of the strong winds. Historic aircraft also flew overhead, and Apache and Chinook helicopters staged demonstrations. World War II veterans were also in attendance. The municipality of Ede called the event a success.

On September 18, 1944, more than 2,000 Allied paratroopers were dropped on Ginkse Heide as part of Operation Market Garden, which involved more than 35,000 British, American, and Polish troops. The allies aimed to cross the major rivers in the Netherlands and push back German forces but were halted in Arnhem after failing to seize the Rhine bridge.

During the Saturday commemoration, transport aircraft from 11 countries dropped the paratroopers, the Royal Netherlands Air Force said Saturday.

The Defense Ministry said several paratroopers suffered minor injuries but did not specify their nationalities. One of the two was taken to a hospital by an ambulance for a check-up.

“Minor injuries can include a sprained ankle or a dislocated shoulder,” the ministry said. “Unpeasant, of course, but not entirely unusual. That is a risk of parachute operations.”

Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz (VVD) spoke at the commemoration. She recalled how a British soldier stepped in front of a grenade to protect a woman with her child.

The minister compared World War II to the war in Ukraine. “We live in a gray area between war and peace,” she said in English. “Undersea cables are being cut, drones fly through our airspace, and cyberattacks probe our systems.” That, she argued, is why resilience must be strengthened.