Captain Fred A. Hancock Bridge

This bridge was named after Captain Fred A. Hancock, 101st Airborne Division, on 15 September 2024, on the commemoration of 80 years of Operation Market Garden. The nameplate affixed to the bridge was unveiled that day by his granddaughter Loren Hancock-Amodt and Colonel Voelkl of the current 101st Airborne Division.

On 17 September 1944, Fred Hancock and his men from C Company (of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division) led the attack on St Oederode. His initial plan, coming from the drop zone just outside Sint-Oedenrode, was to pass through the centre of the village to reach the Hambrug, his main objective for the Market Garden plan. When he reached the edge of the village, he saw a bridge that was not on his map. That bridge, the current Alzenaub Bridge, had been built during World War II and was therefore not on the US maps. Captain Hancock changed his plan of attack in a split second and gave the order to attack across the Corridor. His men advanced across this open terrain to attack the Ham Bridge.... and they succeeded! The village was liberated on the afternoon of 17 September 1944 and the Germans never set foot in the village again.

This action actually concerned the slightly more southerly located Alzenaub Bridge. However, it proved impossible to name that one and so this bridge, which was built only after World War II, was chosen.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar & Jurgen Swinkels
• Photos: Jurgen Swinkels

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