Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe, Commander of Division Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division, speaks to flight crew members of the 434th Troop Carrier Group prior to the allied invasion of Holland, code named 'MARKET-GARDEN'. 'MARKET' was the code name for the airborne half of the operation, and 'GARDEN', the name for the ground forces mission. The C-47 aircraft (above) display the squadron code "CU" of the 72nd Troop Carrier Squadron of the 434th Troop Carrier Group. The other three squadrons of the 434th TCG stationed at Aldermaston were the 71st, "CJ"; 73rd "CN"; and the 74th, "ID".

In December 1944, General McAuliffe was acting Commander of the 101st Airborne Division and other attached troops during the siege of Bastogne, Belgium. When the division became surrounded and the Germans demanded their surrender, he sent back a one-word reply "NUTS", probably the most famous quote of World War II.