May I bring to your attention the events of 60 years ago. Today, hundreds of veterans marched over a landmark Dutch bridge to mark the 60th anniversary of the World War II Battle of Arnhem.
Winston Churchill, early in World War 2, decreed the establishment of a new branch of Army aviation to be known as the Army Air Corps. This body of tough, red bereted soldiers comprised of lightly equipped air-landed infantry to form the Parachute Regiment, the Glider Pilot Regiment, who flew gliders carrying specially trained line infantry directly into battle, and the nucleus of what was to become the Special Air Service. All these component elements were to form the Army Air Corps.
Gliders could be landed virtually on top of their objectives, as happened at Pegasus Bridge during the initial operations of the D-Day landings in June 1944. After landing, the pilots then fought as infantry soldiers or assisted in crewing the weapons or equipment they had brought in until withdrawn to fly other missions.
The full story.
More than 16,500 paratroopers and 3,500 troops in gliders were dropped.
Nearly 6,000 from the 1st Airborne Division were captured, and 1,174 killed.