Twelve American veterans who liberated the Netherlands in World War II will not come to the commemorations around Operation Market Garden in Nijmegen next month. The chaos at Schiphol keeps them at home, says the Best Defense Foundation, which supervises them.
A number of veterans that would come served, among others, with the 82nd Airborne Division that tried to cross the Waal near Nijmegen in 1944. There they encountered fierce resistance from the Germans. Next month they would be at the commemoration of the ‘Waal Crossing’ in that city.
Another veteran who would come over is the now 100-year-old Tom Rice of the 101st Airborne Division. He was also in the Netherlands in 2019 and became nationally known when he made a parachute jump at his age during the commemoration.
According to the foundation, however, most veterans have never been back to the Netherlands before and wanted to visit the place where they fought for the freedom of our country 77 years ago. Some of them would have attended the commemoration two years ago, but it was canceled because of corona.
Text continues below the photo.
Now, according to the Dutch coordinator of the Best Defense Foundation, the chaos at Schiphol is the culprit. “If everyone in this group had been 21 years old, we wouldn’t have had a problem. But the youngest is 96 years old. You don’t want to take any chances with these guys. We have to be confident that the suitcases will arrive. And you can’t have these people queue for hours at Schiphol when they leave again, or have their flights cancelled.”
Schiphol announced on Tuesday that it will also remain very busy in the autumn and that an average of 3,500 travelers per day can fly less than expected.
Coaching
In previous years, the Marechaussee accompanied veterans when they arrived and left, but when the Best Defense Foundation this year again made a request through their contact person to accompany these men in September, they were told that this should not be granted by the police. pipe. The Marechaussee is currently being called flat with such requests. Due to the crowds, escorting travelers leads to unrest among other passengers because they perform this function in civilian clothes.
The advice was to arrive on time or possibly travel via the so-called VIP room, in other words with a special extra service. The foundation did not like that and decided that it was wiser not to come to the Netherlands at all.
According to a spokesman for the Marechaussee, the foundation has never officially submitted a request to the VIP coordinator to supervise this group. If the Best Defense Foundation still does that, it will look at what can be arranged for these veterans, he says. “Even in these busy circumstances, there are opportunities to guide them,” he says. A spokeswoman for Schiphol agrees, and says she will consult with the foundation to help these people with their journey to the Netherlands.
This offer is no longer relevant to the Best Defense Foundation. The option on the airline tickets they had has now expired and reserving new tickets is many times more expensive. “We are now trying to bring them to the Netherlands during Liberation Day.”
Watch our news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss out on any of the stars.
#WWII #veterans #commemorations #due #chaos #Schiphol