On 17 September 1944 the units of the 82nd left in 482 aircraft and 20 gliders in the first lift from seven airfields in the Grantham-Cottesmore-Langar area.

The mission was to "Land by parachute and glider commencing D Day South of Nijmegen; seize and hold the highway bridges across the Mass River at Grave and the Waal River at Nijmegen; seize, organize, and hold the high ground between Nijmegen and Groesbeek; deny the roads in the Division area to the enemy; and dominate the area bounded North by line running from Beek West through Hatert thence Southwest to Eindschestraat, South by River Mass and the Mook-Riethorst highway, East by Cleve-Nijmegen highway and Forst Reichswald, and West by line running North and South through Eindschestraat.

After Action reports apparently disagreed regarding the  roles of the 504th versus the 508th.  The following statements were recorded as testimony of men of the 508th.

The following pages include correspondence between Major General (ret.) James H. Gavin and historian Cornelius Ryan including three attachments with testimonials from by 1st Lt. Jean H. Trahin, Sgt Robert L. Seale, Sgt George D. Fairman, 1st Lt. Lloyd L. Polette, and Col Roy E. Lindquist regarding actions leading up to the capture of Bridge #10 (Nijmegen highway bridge).

Also included is a two page letter from James Gavin to Reverend A. D. Bestebreurtje, a Dutch officer attached to the 82nd as liaison with the Dutch underground, which details actions they participated in together on the Holland D-Day.  Gavin notes that he will forward the letter on to Mr. Ryan and urges him to write to Ryan directly.

Whether Bestebreurtje made that contact is unknown but his name only appears in five brief mentions in the book "A Bridge Too Far"  and the incident of October 17th is unmentioned.

It is a fair bet, however, that Bestebreurtje did not pursue the matter.  He had returned to college, abandoning his law career, to obtain a Doctor of Divinity degree.  The Reverend Bestebreurtje was at that time the minister of a large church in Charlottesville, VA where few knew of his wartime exploits. [Read "Dutch Immigrant and Spy"]

Charlottesville was his second parish and his last. He retired in 1981. He died in 1983 while skating and falling through the ice succumbing to the extreme exposure.

[Click 'NEXT" to read these documents]