Operation Market Garden re-enactment coming to Crestview this weekend
CRESTVIEW — "German troops seen near Spanish Trail Park in Crestview, Allied troops move to engage" is probably what a headline from the Northwest Florida Daily News would be if this were real.
History fans from across the Emerald Coast will be able to travel back in time to September 1944 as the Crestview Cultural Services Division, Living History Corps and the Historic Preservation Board holds the fourth annual World War II commemorative event on Labor Day weekend called "Race to the Rhine."
The event will be held over the course of three days starting Friday at Spanish Trail Park in Crestview.
Here's what we know.
Operation Market Garden
The re-enactment will tell the story of one of the most famed conflicts of World War II, a few weeks shy of the 79th anniversary of the conflict.
Three months after the invasion of Normandy, the Allies sought to push the German occupiers from the low country of the Netherlands. On Sept. 17, 1944, Operation Market Garden began, a military undertaking that consisted of two main parts.
The first was dropping three airborne divisions to seize control of roads between the Dutch towns of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem.
In the second part, the British Second Army was to cross bridges over the Rhine River, allowing the Allies to enter the German homeland.
After 10 days of fighting and up to 16,000 Allied casualties, Operation Market Garden had failed to secure the main bridgehead near Arnhem, although the Allies did successfully liberate the cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen from German control. Arnhem wasn't successfully liberated until April 1945.
“The operation was very ambitious, risky and daring,” said event organizer Grant Brooks. “And even more daring were the men involved in the operation, putting their lives on the line to bring an end to tyranny and injustice."
Education is the primary goal
"It's important for people to be able to have an accurate visual representation of the past because books and movies can only provide so much learning potential outside of the classroom,” said event organizer Andrew Daigle.
Daigle said he noticed a middle school-aged student admiring a restored World War II jeep that was on display, with the student saying that he only ever saw them in a history book.
"We make history come alive," Daigle said.
Schedule of Events
If you are interested in attending the "Race to the Rhine," all three days of activity will be held at the Spanish Trail Park in Crestview behind the senior center and amphitheater. The event will offer free admission for all events listed below, with food being sold on site.
Focusing on the goal of education, the first day of the event will be a students and veterans day. Visitors will be able to walk through encampments on display and be able to meet re-enactors and enjoy demonstrations. The event will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To sign up for student and veterans day, contact Brian Hughes of Crestview Cultural Services at hughesb@cityofcrestview.org.
Saturday will follow the same schedule but with a twist. At 7 p.m., a free USO-style dance will be held in the amphitheater, featuring the 15-piece Hashtag Swing Orchestra.
On Sunday, the event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a special church field service that will be conducted from a World War II chaplain's manual that will include hymns from the 1942 Army-Navy Hymnal.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Re-enactment of critical WWII battle coming to Crestview this weekend
