In 1957 and '58, I was a soldier in the US Army serving in Germany as a peace keeping force. Without a war to focus our energy, we were left to our own devices to entertain ourselves. Two large buildings on the outskirts of town housed 250 soldiers apiece. Our thirty by thirty foot room on the third floor boasted one electric outlet and one 200 watt ceiling fixture in the middle of the room. Nine beds with footlockers comprised all of the furniture. Many of the soldiers were taking extension college courses, but found it difficult to see the pages. So I teamed up with a buddy and built a small side table for each man to hold a lamp and the needed books. Army rules prevented us from using extension cords longer than six feet, but there was no rule specifically forbidding the rewiring of the building. I didn't ask, I just did it. In summer we bivouacked at Grafenwehr near East Germany. Long known as a training camp, it also featured a nice golf course and skiing in the winter. An alternate location was situated on the North Sea. Our 91mm radar guns set up on the cliff overlooking the beach where they could take potshots at dummy towed by a PT boat. Every tenth shot or so, a cheer marked the destruction of a target. I'm sure the PT boat occupants wished for a longer tow rope. My job as a radio operator required eight hours on duty in the radio truck and forty eight hours off. I remember once a coworker threw a pencil at me which lodged across the main transmitting antenna while transmitting. A loud explosion and a six inch arc of light lit up the radio room. Steep cliffs protected sandy beaches and crystal clear water at seventy five degrees. One such cove existed irresistibly only two miles away from camp. Loading up a jeep with two shelter halfs, a badminton set, a walkie talkie, mess kits and a large German radio for music, a co-radio operator and I set off for the beach. Alternating current of 110 volts was improvised by plugging in to the end radar generator and running two miles of double E8 telephone wire to our impromptu beach resort. The Army rubber mattresses made for lots of water fun. Plenty of driftwood fed a fire where we roasted potatoes and grilled veal cutlets bought from the town butcher. A dozen bottled beer in a net on the end of a rope kept cool in the sea. Several German girls vacationing in the area joined us on the beach and in the sea for a good time. All these activities may have been unsanctioned by the Army, but we were fit and ready to serve our country in a time of war. |
