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.
Paratroopers from the Dutch Air Mobile Brigade and 12 other NATO nations took part in a series of jumps over Ginkel Heath, watched by a small group of World War II veterans and some 60,000 spectators.
Local mayor Rene Verhulst called the heath near Arnhem a place "where 80 years ago courage, sacrifice and hope came together in the shape of the airborne landings during Operation Market Garden. Today we commemorate the brave young soldiers who risked and sometimes gave their lives for our freedom."
One of the soldiers involved, 99-year-old Geoff Roberts, was among 12 World War II veterans present on a warm fall day.
For Operation Market Garden, he arrived in the nearby village of Wolfheze a day before the mass drops at Ginkel Heath.
