The Epic Struggle of the First Airborne Division
Report on Arnhem Operation, 18-25 September 1944

Originally, Lt. J. E. Bice and I were ordered to take part in the Arnhem airborne operations as GCI controllers, but this was later cancelled, since the air cooperation and night fighters were to be all RAF. W/C Clarence Brown, 38 Group Operations, who was in charge of the two GCI teams, explained that our verbal orders were that we could go voluntarily, but that we were no longer ordered to do so. In case American fighters were used, and also in the hope of setting up an offensive day fighter control center, I decided to go along. Lieutenant Bice returned to our unit, the 306th Fighter Control Squadron, in France.

On D-day we were ready to go, but our tug planes had not been ordered, and we had to wait until the following day. W/C Brown went ahead with another unit, with instructions to meet him on the LZ east of Nijmegen. We intended to set up on the hills to the east, just across the German border, in the western tip of the Reichswald. W/C Brown, as I have since learned unofficially from several sources, has been killed.

On D plus 1, S/L Coxon, four RAF enlisted men, and I took off from the RAF station at Harwell. As we crossed the western tip of the Netherlands islands, we encountered a heavy flurry of near flak bursts, but no flak hit our glider. About 5 minutes short of our LZ, the one about 5 miles northwest of Arnhem, our tow plane was caught in a terrific concentration of flak and tracer and caught fire. We cut loose and landed in a field in the general vicinity of Zetten, south of the Rhine, about 7 miles southwest of Oosterbeek. The glider pilots reported that our tow plane had crashed and sent a billow of smoke and flame several hundred feet into the air.

Being in German territory, we destroyed our secret beacon by Sten gun fire and joined the parties of two other gliders, who had been forced down in the same field. While the other parties, commanded by Lieutenant Farrell of the British 1st Airborne Division, unloaded two motorcycles, two jeeps, two trailers, and a small antitank gun, I kept saying "Oranje" to Dutch civilians until a major of the underground approached. We decided against setting fire to our gliders for fear of guiding the Germans to our location. The Dutch officer then led us down bylanes, through woods, and behind dikes until we reached a small mechanical ferry northeast of Driel. The Dutchman walked ahead and told the ferry captain to open the gate for us and to be ready to move quickly, since we were under a large concentration of enemy guns. We made a break across 200 yards of open ground. Fortunately, a Fortress was flying overhead, and with all German eyes and guns turned on it we crossed unseen. The B-17 was untouched. In Driel, before crossing, we had captured six Germans, but because we were unable to take them with us we had the local civilians put the prisoners in jail and throw their weapons into the river. They were Poles, forced into the German army, and had no fight in them.

Across the river the Dutch civilians had posted themselves at intersections and now directed us to the main body of troops. We got past the railroad station in the western part of Arnhem and were held up by heavy machine gun fire. Lieutenant Farrell and I knocked out two machine guns with grenades, but we were still unable to go on. By this time it was dark.

Since Lieutenant Farrell wanted to go to the 1st Brigade and I was headed for division headquarters, we separated and I joined Lieutenant Heaps, a Canadian. S/L Coxon took the enlisted men into a building across the road. I had planned to spend the night in the railway station, but Lieutenant Heaps decided to report back to headquarters, so I went with him. We had 11 men crowded on a Bren carrier.