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Villa 'Klondike', 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment HQ

<< Back to Veghel - Villa Klondike

Details:

On the Villa Grounds.

Commemorative Object

A large "villa" like house with an inscription on the vehicle entry gate and the 101st Placard by the door. An information sign details the history of the villa.

The house where Colonel Howard Johnson of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) established his Headquarters on September 17, 1944 during operation Market Garden. "Klondike" was the call sign (or codename) for the 501st PIR during Operation Market Garden.  Colonel Johnson was later killed during the battle and a nearby street is named in his honor.

From the Het Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei website:

The monument 'Klondike' commemorates the 501st PIR  landing on 17 September 1944 of the 501st Regiment as part of Operation 'Market Garden'.

From 17 to 26 September 1944, the Allies wanted to create a bridgehead over the large rivers in the Netherlands with a major offensive (Operation 'Market Garden'). In a lightning-fast attack, air landing forces had to secure bridges. Ground troops then had to advance from Belgium over these bridges to the IJsselmeer. With the Americans everything went pretty well. The bridges over the Meuse and the Maas-Waal Canal near Heumen and most bridges in the Eindhoven area fell into their hands and after hard fighting also the Waalbrug near Nijmegen. But the Rhine Bridge near Arnhem turned out to be a bridge too far. The English paras were surprised by German armored troops and had to retreat to the Betuwe under heavy losses.

On September 17, 1944, the house of Doctor Kerssemakers was made available to Colonel Howard Johnson, who was in charge of the 501st PIR. 'Klondike' was the radio code name (the so-called radio call sign) of this regiment. The house was later named after this call sign. After landing in the drop area near Veghel, the 501st PIR took the bridges over the Aa and the Zuid-Willemsvaart. In order to defend 'the Corridor' (or 'Hell's Highway') from Eindhoven to Arnhem, a heavy battle broke out on September 24, 1944 in the sand dunes near Eerde (located between Schijndel and Veghel) between the 501st PIR and the enemy. There were many victims in this confrontation: 48 Americans, 12 British, an unknown number of Germans and 9 civilians.

Source: https://www.4en5mei.nl/oorlogsmonumenten/zoeken/784/veghel-klondike

 

 

Monument Text:

On the gate by the road entrance:

 

KLONDIKE
1944

Commemorates:

People:

Howard Ravenscroft “Jumping Jimmy” Johnson

Units:

101st Airborne Division

502nd Parachute infantry Regiment

United States Army

Wars:

WWII

Battles:

Operation Market Garden

Other images :