Operation Pegasus: The Daring Midnight Rescue Across the Rhine
They crossed the Rhine in darkness, into enemy territory, to rescue strangers.
On the night of October 22, 1944, twenty-four men of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, paddled into history.
What happened on the banks of the Lower Rhine, near the Dutch village of Randwijk, is one of the most daring and least told episodes of World War II. It was a perfect mission. No shots fired. No lives lost. And nearly 150 souls rescued.
This was Operation Pegasus.
A New Face, A New Mission
Following the battle for “The Island” in the Netherlands, Easy Company was under the command of First Lieutenant Fred “Moose” Heyliger. A competent, respected leader, Heyliger had replaced Winters temporarily and earned the men’s trust through quiet resolve and steady nerves.
Then came the call. A British officer — Lieutenant Colonel David Dobie, known as the “Mad Colonel of Arnhem” — had escaped German captivity and contacted Allied command with a bold request. More than 130 British airborne troops, along with Dutch resistance fighters and a handful of American pilots, were trapped on the far side of the Rhine, hiding from the Germans. They needed extraction.
The British would plan it. Easy Company would execute it.
Into the River
It began at midnight. For several nights leading up to the rescue, Allied anti-aircraft guns had fired tracers across the river at the same time, a trick to lull German sentries into routine. On October 22, the signal came: a red flashlight blinking “V for Victory” from the north bank. The boats, hidden in nearby orchards, slid silently into the water.
Heyliger’s team, seventeen riflemen, plus Lieutenants Welsh and Shames, rowed in near total silence. Tension gripped every man. They were deep in enemy territory, with no moon, a swift current, and orders to succeed without a sound. Private Ralph Stafford nearly fired his weapon at a bird that flew up from the brush. Heyliger quietly calmed him: “Easy.”
They found the British waiting, including Brigadier Gerald Lathbury, who had been wounded and hidden by Dutch civilians for weeks. “You’re the finest-looking American officer I’ve ever seen,” he told Heyliger.
The rescued men whispered thanks, tears in their eyes. "God bless you, Yank," they kept repeating — much to the Americans’ alarm, who feared every sound could draw German fire.
Back Across the Rhine
In tight groups, the rescued men were guided to the boats. Some were too weak to row. The Americans pulled double duty. In all, eight to ten boats made repeated trips. As they paddled back, artillery lit the distant sky, not as an attack, but to silhouette the riverbank.
The Germans never noticed.
By 1:30 a.m., every last man had returned safely. No casualties. No alarms. Just a flawless rescue, executed with discipline, courage, and care.
The Aftermath
Colonel Robert Sink issued a rare, glowing citation the next day. He commended the men for their “aggressive spirit, prompt obedience of orders, and devotion to duty.” He singled out their calm under pressure as the key to success. Their mission was so precise, the Germans never realized an evacuation had taken place.
Heyliger would later be wounded in a friendly fire incident and evacuated before Bastogne. He never returned to combat. But that night on the Rhine, he led one of the war’s most heroic rescues.
Walk the Story
The Operation Pegasus Memorial near Randwijk honors this mission. You can stand where they launched the boats, walk the dike, and imagine the silent stroke of oars in the fog. It’s one of the most moving places on the Band of Brothers trail.
Want to hear stories like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a piece of forgotten history.
Read more: Band of Brothers, Beyond Band of Brothers, Easy Company Soldier, Airborne: Combat Stories of Ed Shames, Rendezvous with Destiny
Photos courtesy of U.S. Army Signal Corps, James Skeffington, and Unsplash.
Ready to visit? All the information you need to plan your own trip is in the Band of Brothers Travel Guide
