Issel River on the left - farmstead in the distance.

Hi all - here's the second post for Monday.  As a reminder, March 24, 1945 was the day Operation Varsity (the Rhine crossing) was launched.  This was a massive airborne operation by the combined American and British airborne units.  So yesterday, The Vet returned to the spot where - seated in his jeep within a Waco CG4A glider - he was cut loose from the C47 tow plane for what he's loosely summarized as 'anything but gliding' to a spot in 'Landing Zone 'S' (LZ-S).  After grouping with accompanying members of the host 101st ADBF Association and lots of discussion and orientation exercises with much gesturing, the party began to zero in on specific areas and/or landmarks that perhaps John J would recognize as an "it was here" spot.  We started at the intersection of the Issel River and Issel Canal (the canal is still there, but now exists as an underground waterway).  Verdict: "Nope - further that way - try the next bridge.  I think I picked up that Mauser rifle in a foxhole over there, but we landed further that way."

So one more bridge  downstream- a farmstead and the remains of an old bridge (the current road having been relocated another 1/4 mile downstream).  Same verdict: "No - not quite - let's try the next bridge".   The terrain has been changed to accommodate the re-routing of a road - a new bridge across the Issel - but a familiar patch of woods remains, and the aerial photos from 1945 after the operation helped to get the bearings.  This was the spot.  "We landed around here - stopped somewhere over there." ..

The search party. Only 1 of us knew what we were looking for.

There were more memories related, some stories, and a few moments.   A fair amount of time was spend recollecting and discussing what else was happening in the immediate area.  As you can see, LZ-S is still a field, so some - but not a lot - has changed.  It was peaceful and a beautiful day to visit.  John J commented that the welcome was much nicer this time.  We went to the next bridge just to take a look and make sure.  "Nope - the river was straight where we landed."  So, The Vet was satisfied that he had found the area where they landed on March 24th, 1945.   Quite a day indeed.