101st AB Division Memorial, Son, Holland
Operation Market Garden depended upon the capture by airborne forces of a sequence of bridges over rivers and canals in Holland. An armoured land force was planned to cross these bridges at speed to ultimately reach Arnhem and the German border. The Memorial here is in the form of a US airborne soldier who has just landed and is dragging his parachute behind him. It was designed by Jan Lessen and Jan van Gemert. The US 506th PIR, commanded by Colonel Bob Sink, landed about 2kms away from here, and advanced towards the Son bridge over the Wilhemina Canal less than a km from here. Unfortunately, the Germans blew up the bridge just as the Americans approached, showering them with debris. The US 326th AB Engineers were called in to repair it but, when the British armoured car recce units arrived at around 1700 hours the following day, it was not completed and Sappers of 14 Field Squadron joined in to help
