In April 1943, the German masters of The Netherlands ordered the University of Nijmegen (rhymes with sly pagan) to sign a loyalty pledge. It was promptly returned—unsigned—to occupation headquarters. Punishment came swiftly: many professors and students were dragged off to concentration and labor camps, and the university closed its doors.
One sunny September Sunday, a year later, U.S. paratroopers tumbled from transports above Nijmegen. In three days, aided by the Dutch student underground, the 82nd Airborne Division captured intact Nijmegen Bridge—"Gateway to The Netherlands." In the fighting, most of the university was reduced to rubble; the retreating Germans deliberately fired the main building and shelled the library for 68 hours. When the 82nd went home in victory, wearing the orange lanyard of the Military Order of William, 800 paratroopers stayed behind, buried in Dutch soil.
Last week the dead G.I.s got a living memorial. Ex-U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Hugh Gibson and a platoon of big names (Herbert Hoover, Jim Farley, General Omar Bradley, Philip Murray, Louella Parsons) began raising $2,000,000 to help rebuild the University of Nijmegen in honor of the 82nd.