Spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division Lt. Col. Martin Meiners, seventh right, poses for a photo with Dutch reenactors on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Mesch, Netherlands. The reenactors — including Jan-Thijs Koppen, second left — were dressed as soldiers from the 30th Infantry Division, which liberated the village 80 years ago. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

MESCH, Netherlands — American World War II veterans and U.S. soldiers now serving joined the king and queen of the Netherlands on Thursday to mark 80 years since the start of the country’s liberation from Nazi occupation.

On Sept. 12, 1944, soldiers with the Army National Guard’s 30th Infantry Division crossed the Dutch-Belgian border into Mesch, making it the first Dutch village to be liberated by Allied forces.

Kenneth Thayer, 99, a former private first class who was assigned to the unit, drove into Thursday’s commemoration ceremony on a vintage military vehicle next to King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.

“Today, 80 years later, we not only reflect on the event of that time, but also on the fact that we have been living in a free and democratic country since Sept. 12, (1944),” Jos Coumans, the chairman of the Netherlands’ Remembrance Committee, said while announcing Thayer’s entrance.

Dutch schoolchildren line a street in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to welcome King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and U.S. World War II veteran Kenneth Thayer to a commemoration marking 80 years since U.S. troops liberated the village from the Nazis. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

School children attend commemorations in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to mark 80 years since U.S. forces liberated the village during World War II. A large American flat hangs from the village church in the background. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The 30th Infantry Division, known as Old Hickory, entered the Netherlands with a goal to advance into German-occupied territory as part of the broader Allied push following the invasion of Normandy about three months earlier.

Shortly afterward, U.S. troops entered Maastricht, the first Dutch city to be liberated. The entire country was freed by May 5, 1945.

U.S. Army Europe and Africa Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Michael Wickman, who attended the commemoration, said it was important to remember the efforts made eight decades ago.

“As long as we keep acknowledging and recognizing the challenges that we faced through oppression and tyranny, I think it helps us into the future to remember the things we did in the past, and hopefully it provides us with inspiration when we face challenges like this again, such as what we’re seeing between Russia and Ukraine,” Wickman said.

A roadside banner in in Mesch, Netherlands, advertises commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the country’s independence during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and)

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands escorts World War II veteran Kenneth Thayer, 99, into a ceremony in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to mark 80 years since the beginning of the country’s liberation during the war. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Citizens lined the streets of Mesch and clapped as the veterans made their way from the ceremony to a festival ground, where reenactors gathered and 1940s music was played amid plenty of American flags.

“The feeling I get coming back here is so great. The people have been so wonderful everywhere I go,” said Dominick Critelli, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant with the 95th Infantry Division who served in the war. “They respect you and do anything they can for you. And I’m so happy to see them. I love them, all of them.”

Thursday marked the beginning of more than a week of 80th anniversary celebrations in the Netherlands. It follows commemorations of D-Day and the liberation of Belgium, among other events of 1944.

Thousands of Americans died freeing the Netherlands, including about 4,000 in Operation Market Garden, a large-scale Allied operation aimed at securing key bridges to allow a rapid advance into Germany’s industrial heartland, the Ruhr. The operation ultimately failed in its objectives.

The Army’s 101st Airborne Division participated in Market Garden, and about 100 of its soldiers traveled from Fort Campbell, Ky., to the Netherlands to participate in commemorative activities.

Soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division participate in a ceremony in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to mark 80 years since the beginning of the country’s liberation during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

“It means a lot to see what the soldiers before us did. It sets a high bar to live up to,” said division spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners. “Fortunately, right now we’re not deployed to any combat situation, but if we do, we can draw on that history and that experience and that pride that comes with that eagle patch.”

Hundreds of schoolchildren filled the festival grounds following the official speeches.

“Educating the kids about the war is the most important thing,” said Jan-Thijs Koppen, leader of a reenactment group that was dressed up as soldiers from the 30th Infantry Division. “We want to keep the stories of the veterans alive because history matters.”

World War II reenactors dance to 1940s music at a ceremony in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to mark 80 years since the beginning of the country’s liberation during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

World War II reenactors at a ceremony in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, mark 80 years since the beginning of the country’s liberation during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The 101st Airborne Division patch worn by a soldier at a ceremony in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to mark 80 years since the beginning of the country’s liberation during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)