Fresh from the breakthrough at Normandy, General Dwight Eisenhower
and the Allied forces dreamed of a move that would end the war by Christmas of
1944. The result was Operation Market
Garden, where allied air and ground forces consisting of American, British,
Canadian, Polish and Dutch soldiers would liberate Holland by seizing key
bridges in Holland, and then rapidly sweep north into the lowlands of Germany
while avoiding the German defense line.
So on the morning of September 17, 1944 thousands of
paratroopers descended by parachute or glider into Holland, up to 150 kilometers
behind enemy lines.
Unfortunately the Nazis were waiting, and after ten days of
fierce fighting the Allied forces had to retreat, leaving over 17,000 of their
soldiers behind---having paid the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom. Heroes you should know among the living and
the dead? No doubt.
But this is about those left to pick up the pieces---specifically
at Margraten. This is where the
Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is located, and where gratitude is
practiced in a most unique way.
Established in 1960, it is Europe’s third largest war
cemetery for unidentified soldiers. Rows
and rows of white crosses and stars of David mark the 8,301 graves there. All but 500 of these graves are
non-Dutch---men who died on foreign soil, far from their homes and their loved
ones. But you wouldn’t know it.
Because each one of these graves has been adopted by a
family. These families regularly tend to
their adopted soldier’s grave, attend
annual services in honor of their
soldier, and many even hang a portrait of their
soldier in their homes to honor his memory.
You would be hard pressed to find the soldiers buried on
American soil honored so beautifully.
By military standards, Operation Market Garden was a failure,
but this remarkable community in this little Dutch town continues to disagree. Because courage, and sacrifice, and love never fail. And each one of these grateful hearts
testifies to this truth. The families of
Margraten remember, and they are grateful.
But they haven’t just felt
gratitude, they’ve lived it---and keep living it. And in a tired world so suffocatingly full of
entitlement this is remarkable.
They are heroes you
should know. And I’m Dr. Ross Porter.
.
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