After the landings and
conquering the bridge, British troops would come
from the Belgian/Dutch border and thrust north,
over the bridges captured by the 101st and 82nd
Airborne Divisions towards Arnhem, where the
British 1st Airborne Division was tasked with
the capture of the bridge over the Rhine.
On 21
September the German had recovered form the
shock and were amassing troops and conducting
counter attacks across the entire front. The
Americans held a small corridor from the
Dutch/Belgian border towards the Nijmegen
bridge. The bridge across the Waal had been
taken during a daring river crossing. To secure
the use of the bridge, it was important to
remove the Germans from the Dutch town of Beek,
as a strong German presence at a mere four
kilometers from the bridge posed a significant
threat. Although spread out and hardly able to
hold tehir ground, Lt. Col. Mendez of 3rd
Battalion, 508th PIR, decided to sent How
Company to Beek. H Company was reinforced with
one platoon of F Company and a mortar and heavy
machine gun platoon.
The attack met
fierce German resistance. In the initial stages
a platoon commander and two scouts were killed
and only one platoon managed to make significant
gains towards Beek, although with heavy
casualties. When it looked that the
Germans were retreating, Company commander Toth,
recognized it as a German tactic and ordered the
troops to retreat. Just in time as the Germans
launched a fierce counter attack which threw the
Americans back almost to Berg en Dal.
In the early
afternoon, a combat patrol managed to get into
Beek and reported German ambulances driving up
and down. Lt. Col. Mendez, thinking the Germans
had suffered heavy casualties, ordered another
attack on the town. This time, the Americans,
after again fierce fighting, managed to dislodge
the German defenders and capture Beek at around
18.00. The casualties for H Company were large.
Of the 120 men who were still in the company the
day before, no more than 50 were combat ready
now. At least 21 men were KIA.
Private
Jean Shindler was killed during the attack on
Beek hillside. The exact circumstances of his
death are not known. He was buried at Molenhoek
Temporary Cemetery on 25 September 1944. Later he
was interred at Margraten and in the late 1940's
he was reinterred at Golden State National
Cemetery,
San Bruno, California. He is buried at Plot N,
grave 1257.
There is
confusing regarding the correct date of death.
His grave marker states 24 September, but other
sources state 21 September.
(Picture courtesy
of www.508pir.org)
