Hundreds of paratroopers dropped out of near-cloudless skies over a heath in the central Netherlands on Saturday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of one of World War II's most daring — but ultimately unsuccessful — missions, Operation Market Garden.
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00:00Hundreds of paratroopers dotted the skies over Hinkelsheide on Saturday to mark the
00:0680th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. This was a highly daring, but ultimately deadly
00:12World War II operation spearheaded by the Allies. Its aim was to win back the Netherlands
00:18and strike into the heart of Nazi-held Germany. But the mission was unsuccessful. 11,500 Allied
00:25troops died. Ninety-nine-year-old Geoff Roberts was one of the survivors.
00:29I landed a wall-climber and a glider. Our next job was to capture this area for the
00:39people to come in the following day.
00:45Paratroopers from the Dutch Air Mobile Brigade and 12 other NATO nations took part in a series
00:50of jumps over the meadow to commemorate the soldiers' sacrifice. Up to 60,000 spectators
00:58flocked to the central Dutch field to watch the display, including a small group of Army
01:04veterans.