A tiny village has commemorated being the first Dutch place liberated from World War II occupation

Associated Press

MESCH, Netherlands (AP) — Walking arm-in-arm with the Dutch queen, American World War II veteran Kenneth Thayer has returned to the tiny village that he and others in the 30th Infantry Division liberated from Nazi occupation exactly 80 years ago. Thayer, now 99, visited Mesch on Thursday. He was greeted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima for a ceremony beginning nearly a year of events marking the anniversary of the country’s liberation.