GATHERING OF EAGLES!
Tellico Village, TN
A WW II U.S. Army glider pilot and an 82nd Airborne Division infantryman recently reunited for the first time since both landed in Holland during the famed, but ill-fated Market Garden offensive.
Tellico Village resident Hilary “Ozzy” Osborn and Clinton Riddle of Sweetwater swapped tales recently at a special presentation entitled The Greatest Generation Speaks held at the Tellico Village Yacht Club. The event was sponsored by the Tellico Village Veterans of Foreign Wars post which meets every month at the club.
Osborn entered the war as an enlisted man, but received glider pilot training and an officer’s commission. In addition to the Market Garden operation, he successfully landed troops and equipment in Germany during the final glider operation of the war, Across the Rhine.
Riddle, who is still able to fit into his paratrooper uniform, had his first combat glider landing on D-Day…plus one in Normandy, France.
Prior to the special event, both men and their families were feted at an informal dinner at the Tellico Village Yacht Club’s Blue Heron restaurant.
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