Radio silence, Market Garden and death at Arnhem

It was September 17th 1944. We were returning from a mission. As we flew west
we could spot a sky full of C-47's pulling gliders. The sky was black with
them. As we watched them fly by us, going East, the command radio came alive.
Someone blurted over the Command set and in the clear, "Wow, look at all those
gliders". we were all horrified. The unthinkable had occured. Radio silence had
been broken and information of an attack had been revealed. We were all stunned
by this unforgivable breach of discipline. Had that incident in any way had an
effect on operation Market Garden? We will never know. But the CO was furious
and there was hell to pay when we came back toi base.We never found out who
broke radio silence. It couldn't have been any of the gunners or bombardiers
(recieve only) because they have no access to the Command Radio, Intercom
only. So it had to, be a pilot or a copilot. And what is equally interesting
is that this breach of radio silence, which could have effected the outcome of
Market Garden, was never reported in any account of the battle or in any
history book covering the battle. So if you really want to know what happened
in a battle, never depend on a historian who wasn't there. Moral of the story?
when over enemy territory keep your mouth shut.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer