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Operation Market Garden starts on September 17, 1944. 82nd Airborne Division landed at Groesbeek and Overasselt They have a tough assignment: they must conquer the high ground near Groesbeek and capture the bridges over the Maas, the Maas-Waal Canal and the Waal. They have to hold all this until the ground army from the Belgian border reaches it and in the meantime they also have to hold landing areas so that reinforcements can land here in the coming days. They successfully completed this assignment, although it took more time than planned. The bridges over the Waal could only be taken after the land army arrived, but it was the 82nd Airborne Division that carried out the heroic Waal crossing on September 20, which resulted in the bridges falling into Allied hands.
The 82nd Airborne Division is led by General James Gavin. He was the youngest brigadier general in the US Army, only 37 years old during Operation Market Garden. Gavin had gotten this far because he was a born leader. He was very loved by his men, was very brave and knew how to inspire others. Gavin always preferred to take part in battle together with his unit and was nicknamed 'the jumping general' because he jumped into combat four times with his paratroop unit during the Second World War. During Operation Market Garden, Gavin had a Dutch captain as his right hand: Arie Dirk Bestebreurtje was a volunteer in British service. He led a special 'Jedburg team' that had to establish a connection between the local resistance and the Allies. Bestebreurtje was given this assignment because he knew Nijmegen well and had walked the Nijmegen Four Days Marches several times before the war.
After the war, General Gavin maintained a strong bond with Nijmegen. When he returned to the United States, he initiated a relief effort in which the city of Albany (in New York State) 'adopted' the city of Nijmegen and sent large amounts of aid to Nijmegen through collections. The Albany Committee collected money, clothing, furniture and building materials for Nijmegen, with special attention to the recovery of the university. In 1947 Gavin was made an honorary citizen of Nijmegen.
In the military, Gavin was a driving force in ending racial segregation in the U.S. military and under his leadership the 82nd Airborne became the first integrated division.
Until his death in 1990, Gavin continued to return to Nijmegen regularly for memorial services. He also supported the establishment of the Liberation Museum, now Freedom Museum, in Groesbeek in 1987.
