introduction
The Brabant village Oisterwijk and Operation Market Garden

After I moved to a new neighbourhood in Oisterwijk back in 2007 I got invited by a new neighbour and his wife. During my visit I learned that my neighbour and I shared the same interest in the Second World War. Because he was born before the war and lived through this period as a young boy he could tell me lots of stories about Oisterwijk and its World War Two history. He told me for instance of the cemetery in Oisterwijk where Scottish soldiers are buried that were killed during the liberation of our village. He also told me about American and German soldiers that were ones buried on that cemetery and who were relocated after the war.

 

When I asked him more about the American soldiers that were buried in Oisterwijk he told me their story. They got killed in 1944 during operation Market Garden when the aircraft they were in crashed in Oisterwijk. He could not give me more details, and since he did not have a computer to research the stories on the internet, he asked me to provide my assistance. This started my quest for more information which took more than two years. During this time I was able to gather lots off information that I shared with my neighbour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The information that I gathered I then wrote down and eventually turned out to be a very interesting story of facts. This story can be read in this webbook, supported by photo’s from then and now. During my research I came upon more stories and information about the war in Oisterwijk. I read of other aircraft that crashed in this area and stories of US and British airborne troops dropped behind enemy lines in this area. Also these stories were further researched and written in this webbook.

 

For my research I consulted several foreign and domestic archives and databases and internet publications. I further read many books and documents on the subject. I was able to gather a substantial amount of information through interviews with eyewitnesses who lived in Oisterwijk throughout the Second World War and I gathered information through articles in the local media. Even eyewitness accounts of WWII veterans where used for this webbook. All this information was used for this story and formed into this very interresting webook.

 

Het Begin